A Fable MCQs

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Author: Nasir Iqbal | Assistant Professor of English Literature


Updated on: November 16, 2025
Estimated Reading Time: 17 min

A Fable MCQs

1. What primary emotions affected the city’s inhabitants before dawn?

A. Hunger and cold
B. Dread and anxiety
C. Anger and sorrow
D. Sleep and peace

B. Dread and anxiety.
The people huddled all night feeling fear and worry about what the new day of anxiety and dread had begun.

2. What was remarkable about the crowd advancing on the cavalry?

A. It was loud
B. It was disorderly
C. It was silent
D. It was armed

C. It was silent.
The large mass of people advancing toward the cavalry made no sound, being almost orderly and irresistible.

3. How is the sergeant commanding the troop described physically?

A. Thin, tall, young
B. Thick, forty, moustached
C. Frail, quiet, watchful
D. Old, tired, scarred

B. Thick, forty, moustached.
The sergeant was described as a thick man of forty, wearing a moustache like a Sicilian brigand.

4. Why did the woman initially refuse the offered bread?

A. She disliked the taste
B. She was not hungry
C. She repudiated the bread itself
D. She feared the giver

C. She repudiated the bread itself.
She refused the bread, not the person offering it, seeming to try to keep her eyes from looking at it.
5. How did the sergeant view the tall man offering observations?

A. Young and unblemished
B. Old and wounded
C. Furtive and anxious
D. Angry and commanding

A. Young and unblemished.
The man was tall, erect, and appeared youthful, in contrast to the other men standing around him.

6. What change occurred in the sergeant’s view of the civilian crowd?

A. He felt contempt
B. He felt kinship
C. He felt alienation
D. He felt relief

C. He felt alienation.
He suddenly felt like the alien and obsolete one, having sold his birthright in the race of man.

7. What official status did the tall man’s papers reveal him to be?

A. A field marshal
B. A colonel
C. An advocate
D. A plasterer

C. An advocate.
The sergeant, in a furious voice, identified the tall man as “an advocate,” not a general or marshal.

8. What was General of Division Gagnon planning to ask the Generalissimo?

A. To promote the men
B. To shoot the men
C. To free the men
D. To reward the men

B. To shoot the men.
General Gagnon was bringing the mutinous men back to ask the Generalissimo for permission to shoot them.

9. What sound came up the boulevard that caused the crowd to turn?

A. Bugles and drums
B. A wind beginning
C. Screaming of shells
D. Cavalry shouts

B. A wind beginning.
The sound coming from the old city gate was like a wind beginning, heard by the sergeant and the crowd.
10. How many men were in the lorry that carried the special cargo?

A. Ten soldiers
B. Twelve officers
C. Thirteen men
D. Nine Frenchmen

C. Thirteen men.
The lorry carrying the special cargo, the mutineers, contained only thirteen individuals.

11. How did the thirteen men in the lorry appear to others?

A. Dazed and spent
B. Like wild beasts
C. Grave and attentive
D. Puzzled and curious

B. Like wild beasts.
The men were manacled and chained to one another and to the lorry, looking like wild beasts.

12. What quality did the corporal possess that the other twelve lacked?

A. Bafflement or concern
B. Comprehension, understanding
C. Fear or pity
D. Youthfulness and calm

B. Comprehension, understanding.
The corporal’s face showed comprehension and understanding, utterly free of either pity or censure.

13. Why did the division commander initially know his attack was doomed?

A. Lack of troops
B. German strength
C. Intended to fail
D. Lallemont betrayed him

C. Intended to fail.
His trained professional judgment immediately saw that this particular attack was intended to fail as a planned sacrifice.

14. What was the goal of the doomed attack, according to the Division Commander?

A. To get Bidet’s baton
B. To win a ribbon
C. To save the regiment
D. To gain glory

A. To get Bidet’s baton.
The attack was meant to fail harmlessly, enabling Bidet to earn his marshal’s baton.
15. How did the division commander watch the beginning of the assault?

A. From a trench
B. From a box seat
C. From a hiding spot
D. From an aeroplane

B. From a box seat.
He watched the assault from an especially prepared forward observer’s post, like a box seat at the opera.

16. What event actually occurred when the barrage lifted during the attack?

A. A German retreat
B. A general advance
C. A successful charge
D. A regimental mutiny

D. A regimental mutiny.
When the preliminary barrage lifted, the division commander realized he had a mutiny instead of a failure.

17. What did the commander previously believe was essential for command success?

A. Inspiring loyalty
B. Being hated or feared
C. Offering rewards
D. Leading from the front

B. Being hated or feared.
He had accepted the idea that a commander must be so hated or feared that troops would attempt any odds.

18. What did the division commander request permission to do to the mutineers?

A. Execute the regimen
B. Arrest the corporal
C. Give them citations
D. Send them home

A. Execute the regimen.
He made a formal request to the group commander for permission to execute the whole mutinous regiment.

19. What nickname did the men in the ranks give the group commander?

A. General Gragnon
B. Monsieur le General
C. Mama Bidet
D. Caesar

C. Mama Bidet.
The group commander was called “Mama Bidet” by the men due to his pitiless preoccupation and rise in rank.
20. What did the group commander say had ceased to matter regarding the men’s deaths?

A. Their military service
B. If they live or die
C. The war’s success
D. The Generalissimo’s opinion

B. If they live or die.
The group commander insisted it had already ceased to matter whether these men lived or died.

21. What action had the entire French front taken at noon?

A. Remanded activity
B. Launched an attack
C. Signed armistice
D. Mobilized reserves

A. Remanded activity.
The aide reported that the whole French front had stopped (remanded) except for limited air and artillery patrols.

22. What was the division commander most resistant to believing about the cessation?

A. The Germans stopped
B. The regiment mutinied
C. The men started it
D. He would fail

C. The men started it.
He reacted with “You lie” when the aide suggested that the general cessation was caused by “the men”.

23. Where did the division commander go immediately after leaving the lines?

A. To his car
B. To the front line
C. To his private quarters
D. To Chaulnesmont

C. To his private quarters.
He quit the official quarters and went to his private rooms, specifically the gunroom, to read.

24. What was the civilian profession of the division commander’s former aide?

A. A solicitor
B. A couturier
C. A tailor
D. A doctor

B. A couturier.
The former aide, who was the Judge Advocate General, told the division commander he had been a couturier in Paris.
25. Why did the former aide say he hadn’t written his book yet?

A. He was too busy
B. He didn’t know enough
C. He lacked skill
D. He was waiting for peace

B. He didn’t know enough.
He needed to stop reading books to find out about glory, honor, and courage before he could write.

26. What does the aide say is required to pity?

A. Strength
B. Pride
C. Experience
D. Humility

B. Pride.
The aide stated that it takes courage to pity, and it takes pride to be that brave.

27. What book did the division commander retrieve from the battered chest?

A. A novel by Bias
B. Gil Blas
C. A war manual
D. Dickens and Hugo

B. Gil Blas.
He retrieved the volume and realized the word he was looking at, “Gil Bias,” was the name of the book.

28. What astonished the division commander while reading the book?

A. The inventions
B. The capacity of the author
C. The sad stories
D. The humor and wit

B. The capacity of the author.
He was amazed by the author’s capacity, competence, and industry to remember and write down all the events.

29. What was the hope the group commander told the division commander he would vest the people in?

A. A better general
B. Tomorrow and tomorrow
C. Immediate victory
D. Revenge on the Germans

B. Tomorrow and tomorrow.
The group commander wanted the people to believe the war would end tomorrow, and again tomorrow, to keep hope alive.
30. What was inferred about the private in the English trench (the sentry)?

A. A horse groom
B. A retired soldier
C. A gambler
D. An officer

A. A horse groom.
It was inferred he was a horse groom due to his jockey size, warped legs, and “stalls and tack-rooms” effluvium.

31. What unusual power did the private have over many other soldiers?

A. Financial leverage
B. Military knowledge
C. Legal heirs
D. Life assurance policies

D. Life assurance policies.
He was the beneficiary of life assurance policies for many privates in his battalion who had no legal heirs.

32. What difficult word did the colonel use to describe the devotion men showed to the private?

A. Loyalty
B. Respect
C. Love
D. Fear

C. Love.
The colonel confessed to the major that the only word he could think of to describe the devotion was “love”.

33. How did the runner manage to lose his commission as an officer?

A. Mutiny in his unit
B. Feigning cowardice
C. Public flagrante delicto
D. Faking an injury

C. Public flagrante delicto.
He arranged a public and outrageous plot with a girl to be taken in delicto to lose his commission.

34. What simple thing did the old porter say was enough to stop the war?

A. Say “Enough”
B. Fight harder
C. Wait for generals
D. Pray for peace

A. Say “Enough”.
The old porter said that all men needed to do was say, “Enough of this,” together.
35. What kept the runner from immediately seeking out the thirteen men?

A. Ineradicable officer stain
B. Fear of Authority
C. Lack of proof
D. Danger of arrest

A. Ineradicable officer stain.
He believed that having been an officer left an indelible stain, making him fear approaching the mutineers.

36. What was the name of the American flying tyro who arrived late?

A. Monaghan
B. Bishop
C. Levine
D. Bridesman

C. Levine.
The new and youthful pilot who was waiting for his posting to the front was named Levine.

37. What was Levine’s initial reaction when he heard the war had stopped?

A. Relief and joy
B. Incredulous confusion
C. Fear of betrayal
D. Thirst for battle

B. Incredulous confusion.
He realized he knew nothing about war, never having heard of a recess or truce before.

38. What did Levine realize was the only trade he had been taught?

A. Flying armed aircraft
B. Gun range practice
C. Infantry maneuvers
D. Writing heroic letters

A. Flying armed aircraft.
He realized that flying armed aircraft to shoot down others was now his only trade, which was obsolete.

39. What was the lorry carrying that the runner encountered on the way back?

A. Blank AA shells
B. Live artillery
C. Food rations
D. Fresh uniforms

A. Blank AA shells.
The lorry was part of a three-mile column carrying anti-aircraft shells that were blank (without shrapnel).
40. What did the old man who came to France four years ago seek?

A. A marshal’s baton
B. His son’s recovery
C. His son’s body
D. A safe job

C. His son’s body.
The old porter had enlisted and came to France four years ago to search for his son reported missing at Mons.

41. The civilian crowd learned the regiment mutinied after being led by how many men?

A. Three thousand
B. One platoon
C. A single squad
D. Thirteen men

D. Thirteen men.
The crowd learned that the entire regiment had been betrayed and corrupted by thirteen men.

42. What European terms did the American Colonel decline to accept?

A. French ones
B. German ones
C. British ones
D. Italian ones

B. German ones.
The American Colonel stated in French that the only European terms they declined to accept were German ones.

43. What relation were Marthe and Marya to the Corporal?

A. Sisters
B. Mother and wife
C. Sisters and wife
D. Mother and sister

C. Sisters and wife.
Marthe claimed to be the corporal’s sister and stated that the other girl was his wife.

44. What signal did the staff officer carry indicating General Gragnon was under arrest?

A. A sabre
B. Handcuffs
C. A document
D. A pistol

A. A sabre.
The staff officer carried a second sabre, which the crowd recognized as the symbol that Gragnon was under arrest.
45. What did the locket Marthe presented to the old general contain?

A. Twin medallions
B. A lock of hair
C. A portrait of a child
D. A tiny map

A. Twin medallions.
The small locket of chased, worn gold opened to reveal twin medallions, miniatures painted on ivory.

46. What was the primary role the old Negro claimed for himself?

A. An ordained minister
B. A hostler
C. A witness to man
D. A prophet of peace

C. A witness to man.
The old Negro stated that he bears witness, saying that his main witness is to man, not God.

47. What did Levine shoot at during his final uncontrolled flight?

A. The German plane
B. His own plane
C. An Archie battery
D. The General’s car

C. An Archie battery.
Levine dove and walked tracer right through the Archie battery, shaking his hand and yelling.

48. What did the German General realize about the French and the Allies?

A. They are unbeatable
B. They are not soldiers
C. They are incompetent
D. They value glory

B. They are not soldiers.
The German general told the British general, “You are not soldiers,” due to their failure to prepare for war.

49. What physical action did the priest perform before his death?

A. He prayed aloud
B. He used a bayonet
C. He confessed sins
D. He opened the Book

B. He used a bayonet.
The priest borrowed the sentry’s bayonet and used it to stab himself.
50. What did the Quartermaster General offer the Corporal in exchange for his commission?

A. Wealth and rank
B. Liberty and freedom
C. Life and health
D. Justice and vindication

B. Liberty and freedom.
The Quartermaster General offered the corporal liberty, freedom, money, and safe passage out of Europe.

Brief Overview

A Fable is a novel by William Faulkner, first published in 1954. The novel is a complex allegory that reimagines the story of Christ’s Passion against the brutal, absurd backdrop of World War I.

The story is set during a long, destructive war. A French regiment on the front lines refuses to make a scheduled attack. They mutiny and will not leave their trench. This revolt is led by a small squad of thirteen soldiers and their corporal.

Following this shocking mutiny, all combat stops completely across the entire war zone for three days. This silence causes great anxiety among people in the cities.

The mutinous regiment is taken to Chaulnesmont, the main military headquarters. The division general, Gragnon, demands that all 3,000 soldiers be executed for insubordination. The supreme commander, known as the old general, deals with the crisis.

The corporal, the leader of the mutiny, is calm and attentive. The old general offers the corporal immense power, freedom, and great wealth. The general even suggests he will claim the corporal as his own son. The corporal refuses this great offer, choosing martyrdom for his belief in hope and peace.

The corporal inspires a British soldier (a runner) with his actions, which are viewed as a sign of peace. The corporal is executed. His body is then retrieved and taken away in a cart by two women, Marthe and Marya, echoing the biblical story of the Crucifixion.

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