How to Get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia MCQs

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Author: Nasir Iqbal | Assistant Professor of English Literature


Updated on: November 11, 2025
Estimated Reading Time: 16 min

How to Get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia MCQs

1. What viral condition was the narrator afflicted with as a child?

A. Yellow fever
B. Influenza
C. Hepatitis E
D. The measles

C. Hepatitis E.
The virus afflicting the narrator is called hepatitis E, typically transmitted through the faecal-oral route.

2. What financial status does the father claim that 10,000 earns a man in the city?

A. Rich man
B. A pòor man
C. Middle class
D. Comfortable

B. A pòor man.
The father argues that earning ten thousand makes you a pòor man when living in the city.

3. How does the father view the natural ingredients in the countryside?

A. Backbreaking toil
B. Delicious bounty
C. Future wealth
D. Mortality

A. Backbreaking toil.
The father sees the natural ingredients of the country as units of backbreaking toil and sniffing mortality.

4. What does the grandmother use to conceal her mouth?

A. Her shawl edge
B. Her hand
C. A handkerchief
D. A cloth mask

A. Her shawl’s edge.
The grandmother holds the edge of her shawl in her mouth to conceal her lack of teeth.
5. What degree of undress did the parents typically practice when having sex?

A. Fully naked
B. Almost fully clothed
C. Half undressed
D. In darkness

B. Almost fully clothed.
The parents remain almost entirely clothed, having never stripped naked to copulate.

6. What evolutionary change does the narrator embody by moving?

A. Rise of modern man
B. Proliferation of the nuclear
C. Increased anxiety
D. Decline of family

B. Proliferation of the nuclear.
The narrator and other migrants represent an ongoing proliferation of the nuclear family structure.

7. What geographical feature often separates wealthy neighbourhoods from the pòor?

A. A river
B. A dense forest
C. An open sewer
D. A tall wall

C. An open sewer.
The homes of the impoverished may be separated from wealthy areas by an open sewer, track, or alley.

8. What is the teacher’s primary pedagogical tool?

A. Debate
B. Rote memorisation
C. Textbooks
D. Corporal punishment

B. Rote memorisation.
The teacher’s sole pedagogical tool is enforced rote memorisation, delivered in a distracted chant.

9. What material did the teacher use to add abrasion to the punishment?

A. Coarse sand
B. Fine powder
C. A rough stick
D. Betel nut

A. Coarse sand.
The teacher kept a small amount of coarse sand in his pocket to add abrasion when gripping the ear.
10. What job did the teacher originally desire?

A. Electrician
B. Meter reader
C. Factory worker
D. Professor

B. Meter reader.
The teacher wanted to be a meter reader at the electric utility, a job his elder brother received.

11. What is the sister’s future, preventing her from continuing school?

A. Marriage
B. Factory work
C. Travel abroad
D. Sewing

A. Marriage.
The sister’s time for education has passed because marriage is now her designated future.

12. What serious consequence is mentioned regarding the brother’s job without a respirator?

A. Near-term cough
B. Future death
C. Blindness
D. Constant fatigue

B. Future death.
While paint inhalation causes a cough in the near term, the long-term consequences can be death.

13. Why is the narrator considered fortunate despite the family’s situation?

A. He is third-born
B. He is intelligent
C. He is healthy
D. He is loved

A. He is third-born.
The narrator is fortunate because, as the third-born, he is not working or being sent back to the village.

14. What is the family television powered by?

A. Small battery
B. Solar panel
C. Stolen electricity wire
D. Gas generator

C. Stolen electricity wire.
The family television is powered by a wire of communally stolen electricity that runs down the building.
15. What did the narrator’s mother dismissively compare the pretty girl’s breasts to?

A. Large lemons
B. Cheap little squashed mangoes
C. Flat pancakes
D. Two small nuts

B. Cheap little squashed mangoes.
The mother dismissively noted that the pretty girl’s breasts were the size of two cheap little squashed mangoes.

16. What is the narrator’s night job?

A. Cleaning kitchens
B. DVD delivery boy
C. Taxi driver
D. Security guard

B. DVD delivery boy.
The narrator is fit partly because of his night job as a DVD delivery boy in the city.

17. Who blames the narrator’s physique on his diet?

A. His mother
B. The bodybuilder gunman
C. His brother
D. The pretty girl

B. The bodybuilder gunman.
The neighbour, a former bodybuilder turned gunman, blames the narrator’s diet for his lack of bulk.

18. What secret daily indulgence consumes 10% of the narrator’s salary?

A. A packet of milk
B. New clothes
C. Lottery tickets
D. Cigarettes

A. A packet of milk.
The narrator secretly buys a quarter-litre packet of milk daily, consuming ten per cent of his salary.

19. How does the pretty girl manage to keep their phone chats free for the narrator?

A. Using a landline
B. She insists on calling him
C. Via text messages
D. Uses free WiFi

B. She insists on calling him.
The pretty girl insists on being the one to call, ensuring the narrator spends nothing on outbound calls.
20. What condition makes the pretty girl’s mother’s job agonising?

A. Blindness
B. Severe arthritis
C. Back injury
D. Mental illness

B. Severe arthritis.
The mother suffers from severe and premature arthritis, making her work as a sweepress agonising.

21. What mode of transportation does the narrator use to rush to the pretty girl’s roof?

A. Taxi
B. Running
C. Bicycle
D. Scooter

C. Bicycle.
Despite having an hour left in his shift, the narrator jumps on his bicycle and pedals hard to her location.

22. What animal is mentioned feasting on the narrator’s forearm during the power outage?

A. A spider
B. A mosquito
C. A tiny insect
D. A lizard

B. A mosquito.
Mosquitoes are rampant due to the unrepaired window mesh, and one is seen feasting on his forearm.

23. What does the narrator join at the university to gain influence?

A. A fraternity
B. An organisation
C. A debating club
D. Soccer team

B. An organisation.
To navigate the system and gain protection, the narrator grows a beard and joins an organisation.

24. What is the pretty girl modelling on the billboard Changez sees?

A. Shampoo
B. Blue jeans
C. Beverages
D. Designer jewellery

B. Blue jeans.
The narrator rides past a billboard where the pretty girl is modelling blue jeans alongside two others.
25. What is the mother’s final diagnosis?

A. Lung cancer
B. Thyroid cancer
C. Heart disease
D. Severe infection

B. Thyroid cancer.
The doctor’s diagnosis, confirmed by tests, is papillary thyroid cancer, which is treatable if early.

26. What action of his father disturbs the narrator while talking to the matriarch?

A. His fear
B. Bowing at the neck repeatedly
C. Shifting his weight
D. His nervous tic

B. Bowing at the neck repeatedly.
The narrator is disturbed by his father bowing repeatedly at the neck to the matriarch, like a nervous tic.

27. What substance did the brother procure for the mother’s pain management?

A. Street heroin
B. Morphine
C. Analgesic pills
D. Alcohol

A. Street heroin.
In the absence of modern palliative care, the brother procured street heroin for the mother’s agony.

28. What does the narrator finally decide to do after seeing the pretty girl again?

A. Find her
B. Buy new clothes
C. Get a shave
D. Join the military

C. Get a shave.
That week, the narrator asks an old man at a roadside stall to finally shave him.

29. What specialised skill does the master possess, besides numeracy?

A. Carpentry
B. Font sensibility
C. Driving
D. Accounting

B. Font sensibility.
The master’s lucrative talents include superb numeracy and a keen sensibility for font.
30. Why were the narrator and the pretty girl garnering considerable interest?

A. Arguing loudly
B. Enthusiastic meeting
C. Matching outfits
D. Drinking wine

B. Enthusiastic meeting.
Their enthusiastic meeting was unusual for a model and a waiter, causing people to stare.

31. What is the underlying “scam” that keeps the narrator’s prices low?

A. Bribing retailers
B. Selling stolen goods
C. Rerouting inventory
D. Repackaging expired goods

D. Repackaging expired goods.
The master sources recently expired goods, erasing the date and reprinting a later one.

32. What consequence has resulted from the mingling of water mains and sewers?

A. Less flow
B. Clean water
C. Faeces in taps
D. Blockages

C. Faeces in taps.
Cracked pipes cause underground water mains and sewers to mingle, leading to faeces in tap water.

33. What material shortage has brought the water operation to a standstill?

A. Clean bottles
B. Natural gas
C. New caps
D. Water pump

B. Natural gas.
A shortage of natural gas has yet again caused the bottled water operation to come to a standstill.

34. Why is the pretty girl able to stay at the exclusive hotel?

A. Her fame
B. Secured a 50% discount
C. Modelling shoot
D. Her wealthy date

B. Secured a 50% discount.
Due to low occupancy after the bombing, she secured a discount of fifty per cent to stay there.
35. What was the narrator’s savings originally intended for?

A. Expanding factory
B. Buying a resident’s bond
C. Buying a car
D. Hiring staff

B. Buying a resident’s bond.
The narrator had saved money, intending to buy a resident’s bond on his property for rent-free living.

36. What event led to the accountant’s face becoming partially rigid?

A. Old age
B. A stroke
C. A beating
D. Car accident

B. A stroke.
The accountant’s face is stiff from a stroke, reminding him of his deceased father’s rigidity.

37. What is placed against the narrator’s neck during the gunpoint warning?

A. A sharp blade
B. A cold barrel
C. A fist
D. A hot gun

B. A cold barrel.
The boyish motorcyclist places the muzzle of the pistol against the narrator’s neck and twists it.

38. What two conditions did the narrator’s wife attach to their marriage agreement?

A. Travel and money
B. Finish law and no children
C. No servants and a car
D. Respect and a ring

B. Finished law and have no children.
She stipulated that she complete her law course and not be tasked with producing any children while studying.

39. What career has brought the pretty girl success years later?

A. Fashion model
B. Art curator
C. Cooking show
D. Novelist

C. Cooking show.
A popular cooking show on TV, where she packages a sassy persona, has brought the pretty girl success.
40. How did the narrator’s sister die?

A. In childbirth
B. Dengue fever
C. Car crash
D. Heart failure

B. Dengue fever.
The sister was killed by dengue fever, caused by mosquitoes bred in stagnant flood water.

41. What does the guard do after shooting the gunman?

A. Calls the police
B. Fires more rounds
C. Helps the gunman
D. Tells the narrator to flee

B. Fires more rounds.
The guard fires several rounds into the gunman’s face and chest, then takes a photo with his phone.

42. What does the bureaucrat write on the paper before negotiations begin?

A. How much
B. Yes or no
C. Price needed
D. My demand

A. How much.
The bureaucrat writes the words, “How much?” on a sheet of paper to begin the negotiation.

43. What specific injury did the wife sustain during childbirth?

A. Broken arm
B. Perineal tear
C. Skull fracture
D. Severe bleeding

B. Perineal tear.
A severe third-degree perineal tear damaged the wife’s anal sphincter during childbirth.

44. What unique feature will the military’s Phase Ten housing have?

A. Own power plant
B. Drinkable tap water
C. High walls
D. Massive security

B. Drinkable tap water.
The new Phase Ten housing will be unique because residents can drink the water that comes out of the tap.
45. What specific website does the narrator visit late at night?

A. News website
B. Stock market
C. Furnishings boutique
D. Social media

C. Furnishings boutique.
The narrator is tracked lingering on the website of a furniture boutique, which is registered in another city.

46. What crime statistics are confirmed to be high in the city?

A. Robbery/burglary
B. Car theft
C. Kidnapping
D. Extortion

A. Robbery/burglary.
Crime statistics confirm that a significant number of prosperous residents are presently being burgled or robbed.

47. What kind of vehicle is used as a hearse for the painter’s assistant?

A. A limousine
B. A truck
C. A van
D. A hearse

C. A van.
A van, emblazoned with a commercial spray painter’s name, is used as a hearse for the deceased.

48. What procedure allows the narrator to live for a few more years?

A. Blood transfusion
B. Stents in arteries
C. Bypass surgery
D. New medication

B. Stents in arteries.
The world expert suggests that a few stents in his arteries should work to prevent imminent death.

49. What object was used to smash the boutique’s glass door?

A. A hammer
B. A brick
C. A rifle butt
D. A rock

B. A brick.
A brick is thrown beneath the half-lowered steel shutters to smash the pretty girl’s glass shop door.
50. What type of cancer causes the pretty girl’s death?

A. Lung cancer
B. Pancreatic cancer
C. Thyroid cancer
D. Breast cancer

B. Pancreatic cancer.
The pretty girl’s death comes swiftly, as her cancer has spread from her pancreas throughout her body.

Brief Overview

How to Get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia is a novel by Mohsin Hamid, published in 2013. The book follows the life journey of an ambitious man, which is driven by his desire for money and a woman he calls the “pretty girl.” The novel is written entirely in a second-person narrative style, like a self-help book.

The story starts with the ambitious boy moving from a poor village to a big city in Asia. He works very hard and gets an education. As a teenager, he falls in love with the pretty girl; after a secret meeting, she abruptly leaves town.

He finds business success, quickly learning tricks like selling goods with fake expiry dates. He eventually starts a bottled water company, which makes him extremely rich. He marries and has a son.

His great success brings new dangers. He uses violence to protect his firm and secures contracts by bribing officials. Later, he suffers a serious heart attack. While he is sick, his own relative steals his funds. He loses all his fortune and becomes poor again.

Humbled and alone, he eventually finds the pretty girl again, who is also aging and poor. They move in together and spend their final years as devoted companions. The pretty girl dies of cancer. The man soon faces his own death in the hospital.

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