Adam Bede MCQs

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Author: Nasir Iqbal | Assistant Professor of English Literature

Adam Bede mcqs
Updated on: October 25, 2025
Estimated Reading Time: 17 min

Adam Bede MCQs

1. What is the setting of Mr. Jonathan Burge’s workshop?

A. Stoniton
B. Broxton
C. Hayslope
D. Treddleston

C. Hayslope.
The narrator states that the workshop is located in the village of Hayslope in June 1799.

2. What is Adam Bede doing when he is first introduced in the shop?

A. Sharpening tools
B. Planning a plank
C. Carving a shield
D. Singing hymns

C. Carving a shield.
Adam, the tallest workman, was carving a decorative wooden shield for a mantelpiece when first introduced.

3. What physical feature of Adam hints at a “mixture of Celtic blood”?

A. Broad shoulders
B. Flat back
C. Jet-black hair
D. Tall stature

D. Jet-black hair.
His keen glance and jet-black hair contrasted with his Saxon build, hinting at Celtic blood.

4. What mistake did Seth Bede make on his door?

A. Forgot the latch
B. Forgot the panels
C. Used the wrong wood
D. Left out the lock

B. Forgot the panels.
Seth finished the door but forgot to include the necessary inner panels, causing laughter among the workmen.
5. What was Wiry Ben’s nickname for Seth after the mistake?

A. The Drunkard
B. The Methodist
C. The Saint
D. The Preacher

B. The Methodist.
Ben Cranage suggested labelling the door as “Seth Bede, the Methody, his work.”

6. What activity did Adam warn Wiry Ben’s head was often full of?

A. Wicked songs
B. Methodism
C. Drink
D. Wild women

C. Drink.
Adam retorted that Ben’s head was often full of drink, which Adam considered worse than Methodism.

7. Why did Lisbeth worry about her husband Thias?

A. He was often late
B. He drank too much
C. He was always sick
D. He neglected Adam

B. He drank too much.
Thias Bede frequently went to the “Waggin Overthrow” to drink rather than work.

8. What specific unfinished item forced Adam to work late that night?

A. A door frame
B. The Hall Farm repairs
C. A promised coffin
D. A new door

C. A promised coffin.
Adam was angry because a coffin promised to be ready the next morning was still unfinished.

9. What did the brothers discover by the Willow Brook the next morning?

A. Thias Bede’s drowned body
B. Hetty’s lost locket
C. Their father’s body
D. Tools Thias stole

C. Their father’s body.
Adam and Seth found Thias Bede’s body, which had drowned, lodged against a willow tree.
10. What was used as a pulpit for Dinah’s sermon on the Hayslope Green?

A. An old table
B. A wheelwright’s cart
C. The church steps
D. A stack of wood

B. A wheelwright’s cart.
Dinah delivered her sermon from a small cart brought over from the local wheelwright’s shop.

11. What drastic action did Chad’s Bess take after being scared by Dinah’s preaching?

A. She cried loudly
B. She confessed sins
C. She tore off earrings
D. She ran to her father

C. She tore off earrings.
Terrified by the sermon on vanity and sin, Bessy immediately pulled off her ear-rings.

12. Where did Dinah tell Seth she was called to return to work?

A. Leeds
B. Broxton
C. Stoniton
D. The cotton-mill

D. The cotton-mill.
Dinah informed Seth that she worked at a cotton-mill in Snowfield and was called back there.

13. What kind of life did Dinah fear marriage would interfere with?

A. Her sewing skills
B. Her religious calling
C. Her aunt’s demands
D. Her study habits

B. Her religious calling.
Dinah feared that being a wife and mother would interfere with her calling to serve God.

14. What best describes Hetty Sorrel’s type of beauty?

A. Stately and solemn
B. Kittenlike and childish
C. Mature and refined
D. Simple and earnest

B. Kittenlike and childish.
Hetty’s attractiveness is repeatedly described as childish, frivolous, or kittenlike.
15. What luxury did Hetty most connect with becoming a “lady”?

A. Writing fine letters
B. Expensive clothes
C. Learning to farm
D. Riding big horses

B. Expensive clothes.
Hetty’s vanity led her to dream of wearing silk, fine stockings, and precious jewels.

16. What trade did Adam plan to pursue along with carpentry to earn more money?

A. Clock-making
B. Cabinet-making
C. Architecture
D. Blacksmithing

B. Cabinet-making.
Adam planned to buy wood with Seth and take up cabinet-making in his spare time.

17. What gift was Hetty wearing when Adam saw her during the dance?

A. A silver thimble
B. Arthur’s ring
C. A pearl locket
D. Dinah’s cap

C. A pearl locket.
Adam saw a handsome locket with enamelled flowers hanging on Hetty’s berry chain.

18. Where did Adam and Arthur Donnithorne have their fateful confrontation?

A. In the Hermitage
B. By the Willow Brook
C. In the Fir-tree Grove
D. At the Hall Farm

C. In the Fir-tree Grove.
Adam discovered Arthur and Hetty parting in the Fir-tree Grove, leading to their fight.

19. What action did Arthur take during the fight that injured Adam?

A. He struck his head
B. He broke his stick
C. He kicked his leg
D. He bit his arm

B. He broke his stick.
Arthur dealt a blow that made Adam stagger backward, though Adam was the final victor.
20. What immediate demand did Adam make of Arthur after the fight?

A. Confess to Mr. Irwine
B. Give Hetty money
C. Leave the country
D. Write Hetty a letter

D. Write Hetty a letter.
Adam insisted that Arthur must write a letter to Hetty confirming their relationship was over.

21. What small item did Arthur retrieve and hide in the waste-paper basket?

A. A locket
B. A letter
C. A silk neckerchief
D. A broken pen

C. A silk neckerchief.
Arthur searched the room and thrust a woman’s pink silk neckerchief deep into the waste-paper basket.

22. Who did Arthur intend to show kindness to by attending to the Grove encounter?

A. Hetty and the Poysers
B. Adam’s mother, Lisbeth
C. His aunt, Lydia
D. Mr. Irwine’s sisters

A. Hetty and the Poysers.
Arthur was anxious to make amends and prevent further injury to Hetty and the Poysers.

23. What did Adam promise himself regarding his “hasty” actions after Thias’s death?

A. He would get married sooner
B. He would be less hard to others
C. He would stop drinking ale
D. He would move to Stoniton

B. He would be less hard to others.
Adam resolved that he would never be hard again, learning sympathy from sorrow.

24. What new fear flashed across Arthur’s mind after sending the letter?

A. She might tell his grandfather
B. She might do something violent
C. She might marry Adam quickly
D. She might join a convent

B. She might do something violent.
Arthur had a sudden dread that Hetty might perform some violent act in her grief.
25. What physical reaction did Hetty have upon reading Arthur’s cruel letter?

A. She felt angry
B. She felt cold and sick
C. She immediately confessed
D. She laughed hysterically

B. She felt cold and sick.
Upon first reading the letter, Hetty felt horribly cold, sick, and trembling violently.

26. What did Hetty finally ask her uncle if she could do to escape the farm life?

A. Become a preacher
B. Go to the city
C. Become a lady’s maid
D. Join the militia

C. Become a lady’s maid.
Driven by misery, Hetty asked her uncle if she could go away to become a lady’s maid.

27. What good news did Adam share with the Poysers in November?

A. He bought a new farm
B. He was marrying Dinah
C. He was taking a partner
D. He was building a bridge

C. He was taking a partner.
Adam announced that Jonathan Burge had offered him a share in the carpentry business.

28. What unexpected change in Hetty gave Adam hope in the months after the letter?

A. She became very chatty
B. She worked harder
C. She started reading
D. She looked miserable

B. She worked harder.
Hetty had begun to work eagerly and steadily, pleasing Adam’s practical mind.

29. What reason did Hetty give Adam for going to Dinah at Snowfield?

A. To look for a job
B. To go to Windsor
C. To try and bring Dinah back
D. To get marriage clothes

C. To try and bring Dinah back.
Hetty claimed she was going to persuade Dinah to return and stay over her wedding.
30. Why did Adam burn the letter he wrote to Dinah before riding to Snowfield?

A. He lost his pen
B. He feared a negative answer
C. He forgot the address
D. He ran out of time

B. He feared a negative answer.
Adam decided he would rather not receive a discouraging answer by letter than face her presence.

31. What did the old woman at Snowfield tell Adam about Dinah?

A. She was very ill
B. She had gone to Leeds
C. She got married
D. She moved south

B. She had gone to Leeds.
The old woman informed Adam that Dinah had been gone to the big town of Leeds for a fortnight.

32. Where did Adam initially conclude Hetty had gone when she disappeared?

A. To London
B. To Windsor
C. To a lady’s maid job
D. To Arthur in Ireland

D. To Arthur in Ireland.
Adam suspected Arthur had written to Hetty and lured her away, possibly to Ireland.

33. Why did Adam determine not to tell the Poysers his theory about Hetty’s flight?

A. It would injure Hetty
B. He feared their anger
C. He did not trust them
D. Arthur forbade it

A. It would injure Hetty.
Adam resolved to withhold his theory to protect Hetty, as the disclosure might injure her.

34. Why did Adam finally decide to consult Mr. Irwine before searching further?

A. He needed money
B. He needed a confidant
C. To expose Arthur immediately
D. To hire a lawyer

B. He needed a confidant.
Adam felt he could no longer stand alone and needed to make a confidant of Mr. Irwine.
35. What news did the butler tell Mr. Irwine immediately upon his return from Stoniton?

A. Hetty was released
B. Squire Donnithorne died
C. Arthur had arrived
D. The trial was postponed

B. Squire Donnithorne died.
Carroll met Mr. Irwine and told him that Squire Donnithorne had been found dead in his bed.

36. What painful fact did Mr. Irwine reveal to Adam about Hetty at Stoniton?

A. She had married a soldier
B. She was in prison for murder
C. She was too ill to travel
D. She had asked for Arthur

B. She was in prison for murder.
Mr. Irwine gently informed Adam that Hetty had been arrested for the crime of child-murder.

37. What crime did Hetty deny to the authorities and to Mr. Irwine?

A. Theft
B. Lying about Arthur
C. Having a child
D. Attempted suicide

C. Having a child.
Hetty obstinately denied having a child, even in the face of strong evidence against her.

38. Where did Adam find himself seated when he finally went into the court?

A. Far in the gallery
B. Next to the judge
C. By the witness box
D. At the prisoner’s dock

D. At the prisoner’s dock.
Adam was seen being ushered directly to stand at the side of the prisoner’s dock.

39. What sight in court convinced Adam that Hetty’s baby had not been murdered?

A. The size of the grave
B. The sight of baby clothes
C. The medical report
D. The man’s testimony

B. The sight of baby clothes.
The witness identifying the baby clothes Hetty made gave Adam a flash of hope.
40. What was the verdict against Hetty Sorrel?

A. Not Guilty
B. Guilty
C. Postponed
D. Hung jury

B. Guilty.
The jury returned the expected verdict of “Guilty” with no recommendation for mercy.

41. What followed immediately after the judge pronounced the sentence of death?

A. Hetty stood rigid
B. Adam cursed Arthur
C. Hetty shrieked and fainted
D. The jury left the hall

C. Hetty shrieked and fainted.
When the judge said “hanged by the neck,” a piercing shriek rang out as Hetty collapsed.

42. What was Arthur’s reaction to the news of his grandfather’s death?

A. Deep sorrow
B. Exultant joy
C. Shame and fear
D. Sudden illness

B. Exultant joy.
Arthur’s initial feeling was exultant joy because his real life as master was beginning.

43. Who was the magistrate who arranged Dinah’s access to Hetty in prison?

A. Colonel Townley
B. Mr. Irwine
C. Bartle Massey
D. The Jailer

A. Colonel Townley.
Colonel Townley, a magistrate, remembered Dinah and gave her admittance to the prison.

44. What did Hetty immediately do when Dinah entered the dark cell and spoke to her?

A. She began to weep
B. She was clasped in Dinah’s arms
C. She asked for forgiveness
D. She accused Arthur

B. She was clasped in Dinah’s arms.
Hetty slowly rose, stepped forward, and was immediately clasped tightly in Dinah’s arms.
45. What did Hetty confess to Dinah she had done with the child?

A. She gave it away
B. She buried it in the wood
C. She hid it in a barn
D. She drowned it in a pool

B. She buried it in the wood.
Hetty confessed to Dinah that she had buried the little baby in the wood after it was born.

46. What ultimately made Hetty go back to the wood where she buried the child?

A. Fear of the constable
B. The baby’s crying
C. Hunger and cold
D. Need to hide clothes

B. The baby’s crying.
Hetty was drawn back to the spot by the incessant imagined sound of the baby’s crying.

47. What prevented Hetty from being executed on the day of her sentence?

A. A sudden illness
B. Arthur bringing a pardon
C. The priest intervened
D. The jury changed its mind

B. Arthur bringing a pardon.
Arthur Donnithorne arrived on horseback holding a hard-won release from death.

48. What did Arthur give Adam to give to Dinah as a remembrance?

A. A family ring
B. His watch and chain
C. A letter of thanks
D. Money for the poor

B. His watch and chain.
Arthur gave Adam his chain and watch, asking him to give it to Dinah as a remembrance.

49. What realization regarding Dinah’s love overcame Adam when they met on the hill?

A. It was a clear sign from God
B. It was wrong to love her
C. It was weaker than his own
D. It would interfere with her work

A. It was a clear sign from God.
Dinah told Adam her soul was knit to his, which he accepted as the Divine Will.
50. What did the Poysers say was the major inconvenience of having Dinah stay?

A. They had too little food
B. She changed their religious views
C. She spoiled the children
D. She kept talking about sin

C. She spoiled the children.
The children had converted Dinah into a household slave by tyrannizing over her.

Brief Overview

‘Adam Bede’ is a novel written by George Eliot. Adam Bede, the protagonist of the novel,  is an honest carpenter in Hayslope village. He was known for his strength and good character.

Adam loved Hetty Sorrel, a very pretty girl who lived on the Hall Farm. Hetty was vain and enjoyed flirting. Arthur Donnithorne, the young, rich squire, liked Hetty too. Arthur and Hetty met secretly in the woods and kissed.

Adam saw them together. Adam was very angry and fought Arthur. Arthur left the village to join the army.

Adam planned to marry Hetty, but she ran away from home. Adam searched for her for many days. He learned terrible news: Hetty had been arrested. She was in prison for murdering her baby.

Dinah Morris, a kind Methodist preacher and Hetty’s cousin, came to the jail. Dinah had a simple, loving heart. Hetty was sullen, but she confessed her sin to Dinah. Hetty was condemned to die. Arthur returned quickly and brought a pardon. Hetty was transported instead.

Adam was heartbroken. He found comfort with Dinah, who was loving and good. Dinah loved Adam too. After some time, Adam and Dinah were married. They found happiness together.

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