Final Jeopardy: 1960s Novel Characters (2-11-26)
The Final Jeopardy question (2/11/2026) in the category “1960s Novel Characters” was:
An article about autism in fictional characters included him, whose “‘reward’ is to have his brave act go unrecognized”
In the fifth quarterfinal of the 2026 Jeopardy! Invitational Tournament (JIT), the players are: Josh Hill, a network engineer from North Little Rock, AR; Alison Betts, a creative executive, orig. from San Jose, CA; and Isaac Hirsch, a customer support team lead from Burbank, CA.
Round 1 Categories: Historic Orators – Book Smart – USA – Protection Projection – You’re on a Role – Drop a Letter…
Alison found the Jeopardy! round Daily Double in “USA” under the $800 clue on the 5th pick of the round. She was in the lead with $2,000, $1,800 more than Josh in second place. Alison made it a true Daily Double and she was RIGHT.
While his library is in Ann Arbor, his museum is in Grand Rapids, where he grew up show
Alison finished in the lead with $5,400. Josh was in second place with $3,400 and Isaac was last with $3,200. All clues were shown.
Round 2 Categories: Asia: Back on Tour! – Art of the Renaissance – I Need Some Space – Television – Side Hustle Parts of Speech – You’ve Got a Point
Alison found the first Daily Double in “Side Hustle Parts of Speech” under the $1,600 clue on the 5th pick of the round. She was in the lead with $6,600 now, $3,000 more than Isaac in second place. Alison bet $5,000 and came close but she was WRONG, and Ken chose to remind her that it was part of her announced occupation.
This adjective is used more & more as a noun meaning anyone who generates content, from poems to advertising show
Josh got the last Daily Double in “Asia: Back on Tour” under the $1,200 clue on the 20th pick. In second place with $3,400, he had $200 less than Isaac’s lead. Josh made it a true Daily Double and he was RIGHT.
Of the 7 “-stan” countries, we’re headed for this one, the southernmost show
Josh and Isaac finished in a tie for the lead with $7,600. Alison was in last place with $3,200. All clues were shown.
NONE of the contestants got Final Jeopardy! right.
WHO IS BOO RADLEY?
The quote in today’s clues comes from a 2017 article on Zócalo Public Square by Donna Levin, entitled “Were Mr. Darcy and Boo Radley Anti-Social Misfits—or Autistic?” Many fictional characters are looked at in this article about “autism lit”, and Boo Radley from “To Kill a Mockingbird” (1960) is only one of them. “Regarded as a shadowy, sinister figure,” Levin writes, “Boo ends up saving Scout’s and Jem’s lives, but his ‘reward’ is to have his brave act go unrecognized. We last see him as Scout leads him by the hand back to his lonely existence.”
Meanwhile, the BBC’s character sketch of Boo focuses on how he was kept isolated by his family to the extent that he was unable to mature normally.
Alison had no FJ! response, just a wish that her opponents bet everything and she assured Ken that she was hoping they were wrong. She lost her $414 bet and finished with $2,786
Isaac came up with “Randall” meaning (we assume) Randle McMurphy from Ken Kesey’s 1962 Cuckoo’s Nest novel. He bet and lost his whole $7,600.
Josh went with Holden Caulfield from Salinger’s 1951 Catcher novel, forgetting there was a clue about this book in Round 1. Josh bet and lost his whole $7,600, so Alison got her wish and she won the semifinal spot.
A triple stumper from each round:
HISTORIC ORATORS ($1000) The name of this orator who roused the people of ancient Athens begins with a Greek word for “people”
ASIA: BACK ON TOUR! ($2000) We have friend in high places– like at 12,000 ft.– at this alliterative landmark in Tibet, a World Heritage site since 1994
2 years ago: Only ONE of the players got this FJ in “BROADWAY PLAYS”
Rita Moreno & Sally Struthers were the first to star in the female version of this comedy, their characters becoming Olive & Florence show
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First, Allison is always a pleasure to see. Second, her FJ “wager” was canny.
I have no idea why Josh was yelling his responses.
I was 1/3 on DD and missed FJ. That Final, though, was at least as cryptic as the Eliot Ness one, with the “Sherlock Holmes” reference. Also, not that I’m that much of a scholar, but, “autistic” is not a description that I’ve ever heard as a descriptor of Arthur “Boo” Radley. I’m not even sure when autism became part of psychiatric terminology.
It did seem a bit unsports(wo)manlike to wish failure on fellow competitors but it was a good game.
Sure never exprected to see the photogenic and effervescent Alison again. For a moment I thought she was gonna miss that easy first DD. Then she rashly went all-in on the 2nd but backed into a win. She sure felt foolish missing that DD. If the guys had, say, $7600 and $7200, the one with less could have smartly wagered $401, totally locking out Alison and hoping the leader would falter, which is more or less how it did play out as all 3 missed FJ. Isaac is whip-smart but tends to ring in a lot on clues he doesn’t know, and pays the price.
Josh’s stentorian voice nearly blew out my hearing aids.
Guessed the Holmes character, also the Armada king (only after Isaac gave me the first half). Wasn’t hard to go from buccaneer synonym to the other word. The armbone was very gettable. I think I did way better in round one. Appears the majority of stumpers were in DJ.
What a fun game, and I got a kick out of what Alison put down in FJ: “I hope that both of them had bet everything!” Well, it just so happened that her two challengers had done just that, and then handed her the win. Wow! Well, I went with Atticus Finch for FJ.
I’m assured that the reference to an Autistic person is in standing with the company policies. Why in the world would we have attention to disabilities. sex orientation, or gender preference on this show?
Semifinalists:
Matt Amodio: $18,800
Roger Craig: $15,000
Andrew He: $10,801
Alison Betts: $2,786
Drew Goins: $1,600
Wild Cards:
Karen Farrell: $16,400
Jennifer Giles: $8,400
Drew Basile: $7,200
============================
Mehal Shah: $6,001
Liz Feltner: $1,599
Tom Cubbage: $1
Josh Hill: $0 ($7,600 $3,400)
Isaac Hirsch: $0 ($7,600 $3,200)
Veronica Vichit-Vadakan: $0 ($7,200)
Eric Ahasic: $0 ($5,600)
Roger Craig is the one who beat Ken Jennings’ daily highest win amount. Ken’s highest was $75k, while Roger clocked $77k. This was the highest in one day until James Holzhauer laid waste to the leaderboard like a boss.
Well, I’m thinking that Adriana Harmeyer is gonna win tomorrow and, if so, whoever else is in the semis will wish they weren’t when they’re up against Adriana, Matt Amodio or Roger Craig.
I’m not familiar with Roger Craig, but Adriana and Matt are certainly sharp.
Third day in a row this week that all three players scored belowed 10,000 heading into FJ! With one quarterfinal left, Karen has secured her spot in the semifinals while Jen and Basile are on the bubble right now.
I’m sorry this keeps happening. But this is what happens when they haven’t come on Jeopardy! for a long time.
Not only that, we had another missed opportunity for a tiebreaker. Again, we’ll get that tiebreaker someday. Not today.