Rue Morgue Murders: True/False and Q&A Analysis

Posted on Feb 17, 2025 in English

Rue Morgue Murders: True or False

True or False:

  1. The first thing to look for in order to find the solution was the way the murderers had escaped (True)
  2. Both doors facing the corridor Were locked from the outside (False – Both doors facing the corridor were locked from the inside)
  3. The chimneys were quite wide (False – The chimneys were very narrow)
  4. The murderers, in order not to be seen, must have passed from the windows in the back room (True)
  5. The three windows in the back room were nailed shut (False – There were only two windows and only one of them was nailed shut)
  6. One of the windows turned out to be broken which meant that it only appeared to be locked (True)
  7. Less than one metre from this window there was a lightning rod which ran to the ground (False – Less than two metres from this window there was a lightning rod which ran to the ground)
  8. The shutters could provide perfect hand-holds, as long as the murderers were very agile and strong (True)
  9. The assassins were absolutely indifferent to the 4000 francs that were lying on Madame L’Espanaye’s bed (True)

King Kong and Kafka: True or False

True or False:

  1. Going ape means going out of control (True)
  2. King Kong was brought to New York for scientific study (False – King Kong was brought to New York for the entertainment of the masses)
  3. In Kafka’s story, the ape decides to become like a human being (True)
  4. Pierre Boulle’s novels are set at the time of the Roman Empire (False – They are set in a simian version of the Roman Empire)
  5. Monkey Shines is a thriller (True)
  6. Romero’s film is unrealistic (False – Romero’s film is quite believable)

The Sailor and the Orangutan: True or False

True or False:

  1. The sailor was a skinny man (False – He was a very muscular man)
  2. Dupin expected the sailor to pay a large sum of money as a reward (False – Dupin didn’t want any money at all)
  3. Dupin put a pistol on the table and this scared the sailor (True)
  4. Dupin knew the sailor was innocent (True)
  5. The orang-outang was captured in Borneo by the sailor himself (False – The orang-outang was captured by a friend of his)
  6. When the sailor arrived from Meeting his friend, the beast was trying to shave (True)
  7. When the beast entered the house in Rue Morgue, the sailor was unable to follow it (True)
  8. One of the two voices was the sailor’s (True)
  9. The sailor was really shocked by the beast’s actions (True)

Rue Morgue Murders: Questions and Answers

  1. What was the narrator’s opinion regarding the identity of the murderer? The narrator thought the murderer must have been a madman.
  2. Why didn’t Dupin find it convincing? Dupin didn’t agree because the murderer spoke a language which contained completely. Moreover, madmen have human hair while the hair they found in the house seemed to belong to an animal.
  3. What did Dupin get the narrator to do with the drawing? Dupin got the narrator to wrap the drawing around a cylinder of wood.
  4. What was their conclusion after doing so? They concluded that the hand in question was not human.
  5. What did a book on ethology have to do with the murders in the Rue Morgue? Dupin showed the narrator an article from a book on ethology to prove that the hand belonged to an orang-outang.
  6. Whose were the two voices? One of the voices belonged to a Frenchman while the other belonged to the orang-outang.
  7. What was the Le Monde advertisement about? The advertisement stated that an orang-outang had been found and the owner could collect it.
  8. Who wrote it and why? Dupin wrote it in order to attract the owner of the orang-outang murderer.
  9. What did the piece of ribbon prove? The piece of ribbon proved that the owner of the orang-outang was a sailor.
  10. Who was Dupin expecting a visit from soon? Dupin was expecting a visit from a Maltese sailor.
  11. How old was the orang-outang? The orang-outang was four or five.
  12. Where did the story begin? The story began on the island of Borneo.
  13. What was the orang-outang holding in its hand when it ran away from the sailor’s place? The orang-outang was holding a razor in its hand when it ran away from the sailor’s place.
  14. What happened to Adolphe Le Bon? Adolphe Le Bon was immediately released.
  15. What happened to the orang-outang? The orang-outang was sold to the city zoo.