Astonishing the Gods MCQs

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Author: Nasir Iqbal | Assistant Professor of English Literature

Astonishing the Gods MCQs
Updated on: November 6, 2025
Estimated Reading Time: 17 min

Astonishing the Gods MCQs

1. Why did the protagonist initially resolve to leave his land?

A. To find wealth
B. To become a shepherd
C. To find people who existed
D. To learn languages

C. To find people who existed.
He sought people who ‘existed’ after discovering he and his people were absent from history books.

2. What two answers did the traveler always give regarding his destination?

A. For his ears and the world’s ears
B. One for himself, one for others
C. One for his mind, one for his heart
D. For visibility and for invisibility

B. One for himself, one for others.
He gave one answer for the questioner’s ear and a second, private answer for his own heart.

3. What pattern covered the great square where he disembarked?

A. Black and yellow squares
B. Diamond patterns
C. A giant chessboard
D. Simple marble

C. A giant chessboard.
He disembarked onto a great square patterned in black and white, like a gigantic chessboard.
4. What sensory experience overcame him, making him want to stay?

A. The orange glow
B. Invisible enchantments
C. The motionlessness
D. The tinkling bells

B. Invisible enchantments.
He was overcome with the invisible enchantments of the town, including whispering voices.

5. What did the first invisible guide say naming things causes?

A. Loss of identity
B. Things to disappear
C. Confusion
D. Greater visibility

B. Things to disappear.
The guide explained that when you name something, it loses its existence and ‘dies a little’.

6. What sound confirmed the protagonist’s decision to stay on the island?

A. The ship’s final blast
B. The flute choruses
C. A woman’s glorious singing
D. The wind whispering

C. A woman’s glorious singing.
A woman’s glorious singing poured a golden glow, and when it stopped, he decided to stay.

7. What substance were the houses and facades on the avenue made of?

A. Polished glass
B. Solid gold
C. Mirrors
D. Marble stone

C. Mirrors.
He came to an avenue where housefronts, facades, and villas were all made of mirrors.
8. What did the guide say the Invisibles were masters of, besides suffering?

A. The art of fighting
B. The art of happiness
C. The art of transcendence
D. The art of building

C. The art of transcendence.
The guide clarified that they were masters of suffering and also masters of the art of transcendence.

9. What unique creature did the protagonist see trotting past in a magnificent garden mirror?

A. A lion
B. A green leopard
C. A white unicorn
D. A blue gazelle

C. A white unicorn.
He saw a white unicorn with an emerald horn trotting past in a magnificent garden mirror.

10. What advice did the guide give regarding the protagonist’s disorientation by the wonders?

A. To retain his bewilderment
B. To seek understanding
C. To find the meaning
D. To focus on the sword

A. To retain his bewilderment.
The guide told him to retain his bewilderment, as understanding would make things disappear.

11. What item of incorruptible gold pointed to the heavens from the green lake mirror?

A. A diamond cup
B. The sword of Justice
C. A divine arrow
D. The sun’s reflection

B. The sword of Justice.
In the mirrors of the Basilica, he saw the forgotten sword of Justice, made of incorruptible gold.
12. What was the protagonist’s ultimate fear about invisibility?

A. Losing his wealth
B. Gradations and depths
C. Being ignored
D. Being caught by spirits

B. Gradations and depths.
He was frightened because there were gradations of invisibility, fearing he would sink into eternal depths.

13. What terrifying sight was the Archangel of Invisibility compared to?

A. A colossal statue
B. A forgotten god of the mountains
C. A raging fire
D. A terrifying king

B. A forgotten god of the mountains.
The Archangel appeared as a towering colossus of primal light, like a forgotten god of the mountains.

14. What substance was the fabulous bridge, suspended in the air, composed of?

A. Polished glass
B. Water
C. Mist
D. Solid gold

C. Mist.
He found a fabulous bridge suspended in the air, composed entirely of mist.

15. According to the guide, what holds up the bridge?

A. Invisible columns
B. The weight of the world
C. Only the person crossing it
D. The archangel’s power

C. Only the person crossing it.
The guide revealed the bridge is held up only by the person crossing it, who must also hold it up.
16. What fate awaited the traveler if he failed to cross the bridge?

A. He would be arrested
B. He would become a statue of his worst self
C. He would disappear immediately
D. He would find peace

B. He would become a statue of his worst self.
If he failed, he would become a half-dead statue of his worst and weakest self.

17. What final physical form did the bridge take before the protagonist ran onto it?

A. Stone
B. Water
C. Fire
D. Glass

C. Fire.
The bridge appeared as water, then stone, and finally fire, which he desperately ran onto.

18. When walking the fiery bridge, how did the protagonist cover the greatest distance fastest?

A. By running quickly
B. By flying
C. By walking more slowly
D. By screaming

C. By walking more slowly.
He paradoxically found that the slower he walked through the flames, the faster he moved.

19. What did the bridge suddenly turn into halfway across, causing the protagonist to drown?

A. Air
B. Water
C. Stone
D. Dreams

B. Water.
When he panicked about the heat, the bridge flooded and became entirely submerged in water.
20. What vision did he see as he flailed in midair toward the end of the crossing?

A. A storm
B. People rising from the ocean bed to build a new city
C. The guide waiting
D. Demons rushing past

B. People rising from the ocean bed to build a new city.
He saw whole peoples rising from the ocean depths to build a fabulous new city.

21. What did the new civilization build its palaces and libraries from?

A. Stone, marble, diamond, and gold
B. Glass and light
C. Wood and silk
D. Mist and air

A. Stone, marble, diamond, and gold.
They built a civilization of stone, marble, diamond, and gold, with palaces and libraries.

22. What was the most ordinary goal of their new educational system?

A. Achieving great wealth
B. Living the fullest life
C. Winning wars
D. Becoming invisible

B. Living the fullest life.
Their educational system was centered on creativity, with the ordinary goal of living the fullest life.

23. What did the protagonist realize about the final, magnificent bridge?

A. It was made of air
B. It was the bridge of self-discovery
C. It was made of diamonds
D. It was invisible

B. It was the bridge of self-discovery.
He thought of the magnificent bridge as the bridge of self-discovery, leading to inner truth.
24. According to the guide, what keeps things alive?

A. Awareness
B. Mystery
C. Understanding
D. Joy

B. Mystery.
The guide explained that only mystery keeps things alive; making sense of them makes them disappear.

25. What was inscribed on the elegant stone monoliths in the city square?

A. Names of the gods
B. Universal laws in an unknown language
C. Maps of the city
D. The motto of the quest

B. Universal laws in an unknown language.
The monoliths had original words inscribed on them, like universal laws in an unknown language.

26. What did the protagonist realize had shaped the city’s marble facades and statues?

A. Water and stone
B. Music and spirit
C. Gold and diamond
D. Dreams and silence

B. Music and spirit.
It occurred to him the city was composed of songs, its structures shaped by music and spirit.

27. What did the city first appear to be, before he sensed it was water or fire?

A. A city of light
B. A city of stone
C. A city of dreams
D. A city of glass

B. A city of stone.
What first seemed like a city of stone was really a city of water, lying beneath the ocean.
28. What advice did the world tell the protagonist through its harmonies?

A. To stop looking, to see beyond
B. To stop listening
C. To cross the bridge quickly
D. To keep seeking visibility

A. To stop looking, to see beyond.
The world’s harmonies told him to stop looking, for then he would see beyond.

29. What was the “house of justice” momentarily transformed into by the city’s changing forms?

A. A mood of green
B. A statue
C. An empty space
D. A sundial

A. A mood of green.
As the city’s forms yielded, a house of justice became a mood of green, showing reality’s fluidity.

30. What did the guide claim the city’s inhabitants were doing while the city slept?

A. Fighting demons
B. Building dreams
C. Dreaming
D. Relearning laws

C. Dreaming.
The guide replied simply that the city sleeps and its inhabitants dream.

31. What was the first law of the Invisibles’ city?

A. That all things must be visible
B. What you think is what becomes real
C. Awareness is the key
D. Silence is a melody

B. What you think is what becomes real.
The guide revealed that the first law is that what you think becomes real.
32. Why must every experience be repeated if not properly felt the first time?

A. To increase suffering
B. To teach appreciation
C. To ensure full learning from suffering
D. To aid awareness

C. To ensure full learning from suffering.
Suffering is repeated until it is fully experienced and learned from, so that it is never wished upon again.

33. According to the guide, when you are in time, all time is like what?

A. A river
B. A turning wheel
C. A still painting
D. A restless ocean

C. A still painting.
The guide stated that while you are in time, all time is still, just like in a painting.

34. What quality did the guide tell the protagonist to adopt at the gate of every new reality?

A. Invent reality
B. Be still
C. Be afraid
D. Seek knowledge

B. Be still.
The guide said at every new reality gate, you must be still and wait patiently.

35. Where did the guide claim the best and most enduring things are located?

A. In the ordinary achievements
B. In the invisible realm
C. In the city’s gold
D. In the visible triumphs

B. In the invisible realm.
The guide stated that the most important and enduring things are unseen, dwelling in the realm of the invisible.
36. What did the guide warn would happen to beautiful things?

A. They would become monuments
B. They were doomed to become higher
C. They would be forgotten
D. They would be protected

B. They were doomed to become higher.
Beautiful things are “doomed… to become higher” and last forever in dreams.

37. What mythological creature surmounted the great gate of the city?

A. A lion
B. A giant dragon
C. A griffin
D. An eagle

B. A giant dragon.
The imposing gate of gold and diamond was surmounted by a terrifying giant dragon.

38. What did the iron scroll on the dragon’s paw have embossed figures of?

A. Gods and demons
B. Deep-water creatures with seven eyes
C. Famous heroes
D. Lions, eagles, and sphinxes

D. Lions, eagles, and sphinxes.
The scroll had embossed figures of a shark, dolphin, lion, eagle, the sphinx, and the phoenix.

39. What essential step was needed before entering the city via the great gate?

A. Receiving a welcome
B. Deciphering the motto words
C. Finding the key
D. Paying a toll

B. Deciphering the motto words.
He knew he had to decipher the riddle of the gate to earn the right to pass.
40. What happened to the protagonist when he trembled uncontrollably before the gate?

A. He ran away
B. The gate vanished
C. The words became clearer
D. The axe fell

C. The words became clearer.
The more he trembled in fear, the purer the lamp shone and the clearer the words became.

41. Who became the protagonist’s new guide after the gate vanished?

A. The archangel
B. A little boy’s voice
C. A tall lean youth
D. The invisible woman

B. A little boy’s voice.
After the gate vanished, the invisible voice of a little boy announced he was the new guide.

42. What was the city’s true inspiration, despite being made of stone and fire?

A. Water
B. Air
C. Dreams
D. Music

A. Water.
Though made of stone and fire, its houses were shaped like coral reefs, revealing its true inspiration was water.

43. What was the purpose of the city’s libraries?

A. Borrowing ancient texts
B. Recording thoughts, dreams, and prophecies
C. Holding city money
D. Teaching history

B. Recording thoughts, dreams, and prophecies.
The library was a place for people to record their thoughts, dreams, intuitions, and prophecies.
44. What was the most important subject taught in the universities?

A. Mathematics
B. Love
C. History
D. Science

B. Love.
Entire faculties were devoted to the art of living, and Love was the most important subject.

45. What type of thoughts were deposited in banks?

A. Thoughts of wealth and serenity
B. Thoughts of despair
C. Thoughts of sickness
D. Thoughts of failure

A. Thoughts of wealth and serenity.
Banks were places to deposit or withdraw thoughts of well-being, wealth, and serenity.

46. What was the typical form of treatment preferred in hospitals?

A. Gentle music and contemplation
B. Surgery
C. Laughter, poetry, and sculpting
D. Strong medication

C. Laughter, poetry, and sculpting.
Hospitals were places of joy where healing was done through laughter, recreation, and sculpting.

47. What did the woman on the floating litter say she desired?

A. To find true love
B. Illusion, ugliness, and suffering
C. To be taken to the palace
D. To be left alone

B. Illusion, ugliness, and suffering.
She cried that too much beauty was bad and craved illusion, ugliness, and suffering.
48. What did the dwarf-like figure warn would happen if the protagonist stayed too long on the island?

A. He would become rich
B. He would go completely mad
C. He would become a hero
D. He would be forgotten

B. He would go completely mad.
The dwarf warned that if he stayed too long on the rigorous island, he would go completely mad.

49. What did the protagonist feel was his true destination?

A. The moment he started his quest
B. The mysterious square
C. The island of dreams
D. The palace of light

B. The mysterious square.
He was overcome with joy at the square, feeling he had arrived at his life’s true destination.

50. What new quality did the mysterious woman’s curse bestow upon the protagonist?

A. Eternal wealth
B. Loss of invisibility
C. Having to love without illusion
D. Endless yearning

C. Having to love without illusion.
She cursed him to “live to love without illusion,” calling it the worst punishment of all.

Brief Overview

Astonishing the Gods is a novel by Ben Okri, first published in 1995. The novel is a philosophical fable that follows the journey of an unnamed young man who seeks the secret of invisibility and visibility. The narrative uses highly symbolic language and focuses on themes of art, perception, and spiritual awakening.

The young man is born invisible and grows up in a community of people who are also invisible. He is dissatisfied with this state and resolves to find a trustworthy source of visibility and power. His quest leads him through years of travel, during which he learns about various forms of human and spiritual expression.

He arrives at a mysterious city that seems to exist on the border between reality and the spirit world. This city is filled with contradictions and strange beauty, forcing him to question his understanding of existence.

His main trial is a quest to cross a bridge made of mist that changes its form. He learns that to cross it, he must rely entirely on his own commitment and imagination. The masters of the city define the bridge’s mystery as “Creativity and Grace.”

The young man eventually meets the Invisible Masters. He must correctly answer three core riddles, proving that he has fully understood the nature of suffering and wisdom.

Upon succeeding, he looks into a mirror and finds his own reflection is gone. He has achieved accurate visibility by becoming one of the blessed Invisibles, reaching the highest spiritual state.

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