Final Jeopardy: Book Dedications (12-29-14)
The Final Jeopardy question (12/29/2014), in the category “Book Dedications” was:
The 1853 dedication of “12 Years a Slave” was to this woman author “whose name… is identified with The Great Reform”.
New champ Vaughn Winchell won $22,500 on Friday. Today he takes on these two players: Ramona Bartos, from Fuquay-Varina, NC; and Thomas Todd, from Santa Cruz, CA.
Round 1: Vaughn found the Jeopardy! round Daily Double in “Novels by Chapter” under the $800 clue before the first break. He was in the lead with $200, and was the only one with any money. Thomas was in the hole for $200 and Ramona had yet to buzz in. He bet the $1,000 allowance and didn’t have a clue so he was WRONG.
The first of a “Saga”: “Blood Type”. show
Vaughn finished in the lead with $3,200. Thomas was second with $2,400 and Ramona was in the hole for $200.
Round 2: Vaughn found the first Daily Double in “The Brit on the Banknote” under the $1,600 clue. He was in the lead with $5,200, $2,400 more than Thomas in second place. He bet $1,400 and thought it was Charlotte Brontë. That was WRONG.
In 2017, this author will replace Charles Darwin on the tenner with an adaptation of a portrait by her sister. show
Ramona found the last Daily Double in “Art & History” under the $2,000 clue. In third place with $6,600, she had $5,200 less than Vaughn’s lead. She bet $4,000 and she was RIGHT.
Thomas Hovenden depicted an 1859 scene from U.S. history in the last moments of this man. show
In a dramatic turnaround, Ramona finished in the lead with $12,600. Vaughn was next with $11,800 and Thomas was in third place with $8,800.
TWO of the contestants got Final Jeopardy! right.
“12 Years a Slave” was published by Derby & Miller of Auburn, New York, soon after Harriet Beecher Stowe’s “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” (1852), lending factual support to Stowe’s novel and was dedicated to Stowe, one of the book’s champions.
“Even when ex-slaves wrote their own narratives, many struggled to gain full free expression and narrative authority from the restrictions of white editorial control. Solomon Northup’s experience in slavery quickly became national news after his rescue in 1853 from a cotton plantation in Louisiana. Promoted by abolitionist leaders like Frederick Douglass, Harriet Beecher Stowe, and William Lloyd Garrison, Northup’s book quickly became a strong seller, going through half a dozen printings…. To counter critics who would have discredited his narrative as fabrication, Northup– unlike Frederick Douglass or other authors of slave life who preferred generalities and employed pseudonyms–loaded his account with specifics. He cited actual names, places and dates so that his readers could identify and bring his captors to trial.” (U.S. History Scene)
Thomas got it right. He bet $4,000 so he finished with $12,800.
Vaughn also got it. He bet $5,801 and finished with $17,601.
Ramona thought it was Dorothea Dix. That cost her $12,497 so she wound up in third place with $103. So Vaughn Winchell remains champ and has a 2-day total of $40,101.
We may never find out why Ramona decided to go with Dorothea Dix, who was an activist in medical matters and was Superintendent of Army Nurses for the Union during the Civil War, but we will find out if Vaughn wins a third game tomorrow.
2 years ago:: Only ONE of the players got this FJ in “Composers’ Birthplaces”
The town where he was born in 1811 is now in far eastern Austria; when he was born there it belonged to another country. show
We may earn a small commission from qualifying purchases made from Amazon.com links at no cost to our visitors. Learn more: Affiliate Disclosure.
I don’t read as much as I should but the fact that they all had trouble with the relatively easy first round category of novels by chapter was laughable
2014 was supposed to be the Year of the Woman on Jeopardy. It started out that way, and women had a nice run.
But recently, three women have gone out of their way with really bad FJ responses:
Scrooge
The Dollar Sign
and now
Dorothea Dix
It’s not just that Dix had nothing to do with slavery, with her big thing being insanity (although it was insane for a country founded on freedom and liberty to allow slavery, but that’s another matter) —
It’s that Harriet Beecher Stowe’s “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” was the single most successful novel (and play!) of the entire 19th century — even Lincoln referred to it as the most instrumental factor in pushing the nation toward Civil War — and it should pop into any educated person’s mind instantly as soon as slavery, “woman author” and the 1850s are mentioned.
But the parade of bizarre responses continued …
This was a fascinating and fast-paced game. One of the best I’ve seen this year. I was surprised however that Ramona came up with Dorothea Dix. Dorothea Dix is associated with the insane and mental hospitals. I don’t know how Ramona fit that into the clue given that her area of expertise is historic preservation.
yes, my point exactly. since you liked the way the game was played i am looking forward to see it!! thanks for the hint, jacob!!
Just a guess but maybe she thought it was a trick question and Dix (as Army Nurse) was more “hands on” during the Civil War — only 12 Years was published well before the war.
it would often be interesting what goes through the heads of contestants in those 30 seconds, don’t you think??? from hilarious to brainfreeze to sometimes plain , well, not so smart we would probably “see” it all.would be psychologically VERY interesting!
It did seem like a trick question because it seemed too easy for it to be Stowe.
As you mentioned, VJ, Ramona finishing in the lead was indeed a “dramatic turnaround.” Maybe by the time she got to fj, she was too nervous to think straight.
Yeah, dramatic is the word. If Thomas hadn’t been taking wild guesses near the end there, he could have held on to this lead. If Ramona won, she probably would have lost tomorrow since she was barely playing in this game.
Ah, well, at least we have a chance for a 3x winner tomorrow.
Let’s keep our fingers crossed…maybe the 2-day champ spell will be broken tomorrow.
correct bet by vaughn, guarding against thomas. ramona’s bet would have been sufficient at 11.001. not that it mattered. had she been right she would have ended up with 25.097.
i did not see the show yet, maybe the possible total or the amount she wagered had a special meaning???
nice 2 day total for vaugh, ironic that the 2 guys got it.
all in all tough dd clues imo (the last one was a little easier because of the picture}.
my prediction of 1 getting fj was based on that there was one lady. SHE would have been my pick, rather than the 2 gentlemen….
we shall see if the 2 day jinx strikes again tomorrow…..
p.s. got the gender of the players from an acquaintance in albany, just minutes before vj posted the recap. i asked him to just tell me if and how many women would be on the show today. should have thought of him earlier, but i usually talk to him maybe 4 or 5 times a year, he’s not really a guy i know THAT closely and i apologized for bothering him and asked him not to tell me how many got fj right.
p.p.s.
i saw vj’s post of the fj about 15 minutes before her recap. i had the name on the tip of my tongue (or brain…) but it took me 10 minutes to come up with it, just in the nick of time. one of the answers where you afterwards would hit your forehead AFTER you see the name and think about grey poupon: “but of course….” i guess the deposits start to accumulate by now!:(
I didn’t like Thomas’s bet because if Vaughn was wrong he will have 5999 so Thomas should wager no more than 2800.