Each issue of Vanity Fair ends with a noted person answering the so-called Proust Questionnaire. Marcel Proust didn't actually create the questions...they were a party game in his time and his answers are the ones which have become the most famous. There were actually two sets of questions...one he answered when he was 13 and another, more extensive, list that he answered when he was 20. This is the latter list with my own responses:
Your most marked characteristic?
An inquisitive mind
The quality you most like in a man?
Intelligence
The quality you most like in a woman?
Intelligence
What do you most value in your friends?
Intelligence, loyalty, and humor
What is your principle defect?
Reticence
What is your favorite occupation?
Writing
What is your dream of happiness?
Loving and being loved
What to your mind would be the greatest of misfortunes?
Not being able to love or be loved
What would you like to be?
A grown-up
In what country would you like to live?
The USA
What is your favorite color?
Midnight Blue
What is your favorite flower?
Yellow Rose
What is your favorite bird?
Bald Eagle
Who are your favorite prose writers?
Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Toni Morrison, James Baldwin, John Irving, Gilbert Hernandez
Who are your favorite poets?
Emily Dickinson, Nikki Giovanni, Langston Hughes
Who are your favorite heroes of fiction?
Ralph Ellison's "Invisible Man", Owen Meany, Lazarus Long, Superman
Who are your favorite heroines of fiction?
Beloved, Hermione Granger, Luba
Who are your favorite composers?
Johann Sebastian Bach, Duke Ellington, Lennon and McCartney, Bob Dylan
Who are your favorite painters?
Leonardo da Vinci, Claude Monet, Peter Paul Rubens,
Who are your heroes in real life?
My mother, Jimmy Carter, John McCain, Linda Ellerbee
Who are your favorite heroines of history?
Harriet Tubman, Sojourner Truth, Eleanor Roosevelt
What are your favorite names?
Christopher Michael, Gabriel, Angelica
What is it you most dislike?
Closed minds
What historical figures do you most despise?
Hitler, Idi Amin, "Bull" Connor
What event in military history do you most admire?
D-Day
What reform do you most admire?
The Civil Rights Act of 1964
What natural gift would you most like to possess?
The ability to play musical instruments
How would you like to die?
In my sleep at the age of 113
What is your present state of mind?
Relatively calm
To what faults do you feel most indulgent?
People talking without listening
What is your motto?
Go with the flow
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