Intimacy MCQs

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Author: Nasir Iqbal | Assistant Professor of English Literature


Updated on: November 9, 2025
Estimated Reading Time: 17 min

Intimacy MCQs

1. Where does the narrator plan to sleep after leaving?

A. Victor’s floor
B. Spare bedroom
C. Couch upstairs
D. Hotel lobby

A. Victor’s floor.
Victor offered the narrator a tiny room at his place, where he plans to sleep on the floor next to the kitchen.

2. Why does the narrator delay telling Susan he is leaving?

A. He needs money
B. He fears her anger
C. Words are actions
D. He is too busy

C. Words are actions.
The narrator avoids speaking because words are actions, and they create irrevocable consequences, making him fearful.

3. How long has the narrator known Susan?

A. Six long years
B. Twenty years
C. Ten long years
D. Several months

C. Ten long years.
The narrator states he has known Susan for ten years, and they have lived together for six of those years.

4. What does the narrator fear he will do to his sons by leaving?

A. Damage and scar them
B. Make them weep
C. Improve their lives
D. Change their habits

A. Damage and scar them.
The narrator knows that his decision to leave tomorrow will be something that will seriously damage and scar his children.
5. What clothing items was the younger boy wearing in the bath?

A. Chinos and a shirt
B. Jeans and boots
C. Pyjamas and hat
D. Shorts and socks

A. Chinos and a shirt.
The younger boy had been wearing chinos, a grey shirt, blue braces, and a policeman’s helmet.

6. What does the narrator see through the bathroom window?

A. Cherry blossom
B. Tall skyscraper
C. Passing neighbours
D. A speeding bus

A. Cherry blossom.
He is exchanging his house, including the garden full of dope plants and cherry blossom, for Victor’s draughty place.

7. What unusual arrangement did Victor have with a pròstitute?

A. Played piano naked
B. Cooked all meals
C. Offered free therapy
D. Brought strange cats

A. Played piano naked.
Victor had an assignation with a Chinese pròstitute who played the piano while being completely naked.

8. What quality does the narrator appreciate in Victor?

A. Easy-going and amusing
B. Quiet and depressed
C. Always listening
D. His good job

A. Easy-going and amusing.
The narrator finds Victor can be easy-going and even amusing when he is not sitting in the dark, consumed by anger.

9. What part of Susan’s appearance does the narrator kiss?

A. Her cheek
B. Her forehead
C. Her red lips
D. Her small hand

A. Her cheek.
Susan presents her cheek a few inches from the narrator’s lips, humiliating them both when he must lean forward.
10. What does Susan accuse the narrator of doing?

A. Being too loud
B. Staring too much
C. Being too silent
D. Working constantly

C. Being too silent.
Susan accuses him of being silent with her, causing him to stammer inwardly, though he tries to prepare subjects.

11. Why does the narrator believe he leaves the bathroom door open?

A. To annoy Susan
B. To see the garden
C. To stop her anger
D. To hide his face

C. To stop her anger.
He feels compelled to leave the door open, trying to prevent her from becoming so furious in the confined space.

12. What did the boys resemble after being wrapped in hooded towels?

A. Diminutive boxers
B. Small trumpeters
C. Angry old men
D. A pair of mummies

A. Diminutive boxers.
The boys, with damp hair and being tired, resembled diminutive boxers after having finished a match.

13. What kind of T-shirt would the younger boy only wear?

A. A plain white shirt
B. A Batman T-shirt
C. A superhero logo
D. A sports jersey

B. A Batman T-shirt.
The younger boy showed early self-consciousness by insisting he would only wear his Batman T-shirt for bed.

14. What food item did the boys demand from the narrator downstairs?

A. Tasty toast
B. Ginger biscuits
C. Warm milk
D. Fresh apples

B. Ginger biscuits.
Lying on cushions watching television, the boys demanded ginger biscuits, treating the narrator like a butler.
15. What feature did Susan’s preferred auction buys often possess?

A. Worn velvet attached
B. Sharp metal spikes
C. Unusually heavy frames
D. Bright plastic parts

A. Worn velvet attached.
Susan liked buying unusual pictures and furniture at auctions, especially those with worn velvet attached to some part.

16. What specific item does the narrator decide to take with him?

A. Father’s records
B. Signed Lennon photo
C. Books and CDs
D. Money and jewels

B. Signed Lennon photo.
He removes his signed photograph of John Lennon from the wall and places it into his bag.

17. What did the narrator say was the ultimate freedom?

A. To choose freedom
B. To find new love
C. To choose an obligation
D. To live alone

C. To choose an obligation.
The narrator wonders if ultimate freedom is choosing obligations that tie one to life, getting fully involved.

18. What duration did the narrator estimate his numerous depressions had wasted?

A. Over ten years
B. Three years, at least
C. Several months
D. His entire life

B. Three years, at least.
He calculates that his numerous depressions have already wasted at least three years of his total life.

19. What did Victor’s date use the stud in her tongue to roam?

A. His inner arm
B. His exposed chest
C. The pub table
D. His scrotum

D. His scrotum.
Victor described how the stud in the woman’s tongue roamed his scrotum like a slug carrying a ball bearing.
20. What condition did the accountant friend accept as his due?

A. Happiness
B. Relative unhappiness
C. Wealth and fame
D. Permanent boredom

B. Relative unhappiness.
The narrator has known people who accept relative unhappiness, believing that this depressing condition is their rightful due.

21. What caused the narrator to dread a “second wind” from his sons?

A. They began fighting
B. Their eyes were open
C. They asked for food
D. Susan returned early

B. Their eyes were open.
After carrying them upstairs, he noticed their eyes were open, making him dread they would soon start leaping around.

22. What did the narrator crawl under the teacher’s desk to examine?

A. Her long legs
B. Loose pencils
C. Her worn shoes
D. A secret note

A. Her long legs.
As a boy, he would toss his pencil under the teacher’s desk to crawl underneath and examine her legs.

23. According to the narrator, what can sex never be after a certain age?

A. Frivolous or casual
B. Meaningful
C. Extremely pleasant
D. A lonely act

A. Frivolous or casual.
The narrator asserts that after a certain age, sex can no longer be casual or done simply for frivolity.

24. What did the narrator compare his skirt obsession to later in life?

A. Theatre curtains
B. Film screens
C. Books and paper
D. A dark hole

A. Theatre curtains.
He recalls that skirts, similar to theatre curtains, later in life, quickened his curiosity about what was hidden.
25. What did Ian, the narrator’s gay friend, call the narrator’s waiting habit?

A. A sad routine
B. A picture of impotence
C. A true romance
D. A moral failure

B. A picture of impotence.
Ian, his gay friend, referred to the narrator’s passive habit of watching girls outside tube stations as a “picture of impotence”.

26. What specific type of feeling does Susan often display, usually dislike?

A. Strong feelings
B. Mild irritation
C. Quiet despair
D. Profound apathy

A. Strong feelings.
Susan is characterised as a woman of strong feelings, with her common emotion being focused on generalised dislike.

27. How did the narrator and his former sad girlfriend maintain a relationship?

A. Sex once a month
B. Constant arguing
C. Shared finances
D. Never seeing others

A. Sex once a month.
For six years, the narrator and his sad girlfriend lived together and had sex approximately once a month.

28. What specific item does the narrator now resent being bombarded by?

A. Constant silence
B. Vulgarity and emptiness
C. Too many books
D. His wife’s feelings

B. Vulgarity and emptiness.
He resents being bombarded by repetition, emptiness, and vulgarity, especially from the television and other media.

29. What phrase did the narrator mutter after returning from the Isle of Wight trip?

A. Never going back
B. Never the same again
C. I am sorry
D. I need a smoke

B. Never the same again.
Returning home disappointed and afraid, he muttered, “Never the same again, never the same again”.
30. What did the narrator use to protect him from other people in the past?

A. His own solitude
B. Whispering women
C. His dark room
D. Strong drink

B. Whispering women.
The narrator used women to protect him from the world, huddled up with a whispering woman to keep others out.

31. What did Susan’s mother’s family life primarily resemble?

A. Pleasant and easy
B. Unpleasant
C. Very religious
D. Constantly traveling

B. Unpleasant.
Susan’s own family life, much like the narrator’s, was mostly unpleasant growing up.

32. What kind of objects did the children’s friends smoke at parties?

A. Pot or ‘shit’
B. Expensive cigars
C. Strong tobacco
D. Old cigarettes

A. Pot or ‘shit’.
The group of adolescents he joined smoked pot, referred to as “shit,” and also took LSD.

33. What did Susan spend a lot of time thinking about improving in their home?

A. The music system
B. The financial status
C. Everything
D. Her own clothes

C. Everything.
Susan is constantly thinking about ways to improve everything in their domestic life, down to labeling the bushes.

34. Why does the narrator envy Susan’s capabilities?

A. He feels weak
B. She makes money
C. She is ruthless
D. She knows the rules

A. He feels weak.
By feeling weak and incapable, he enables Susan to feel strong and capable, which he secretly envies.
35. What does the narrator believe Susan keeps most of herself out of view for fear of?

A. Being disappointed
B. Inner chaos
C. What others think
D. Losing her job

C. What others think.
Susan keeps most of herself hidden away for fear of what others, particularly herself, would think.

36. What is Susan’s particular attachment regarding social status?

A. The working class
B. Anyone titled
C. The upper middle
D. Famous authors

B. Anyone titled.
Susan has a curious attachment and penchant for anyone with a title in the aristocracy, which puzzles the narrator.

37. What did the narrator say Nina envied about him?

A. His quick wit
B. His confidence
C. His insouciance
D. His strong feelings

C. His insouciance.
The narrator believes Susan envies his insouciance, or casual unconcern, which he sees as a kind of love.

38. How does Susan attempt to humiliate the narrator during an argument?

A. Calls him lazy
B. Mentions his salary
C. Accuses him of sleeping
D. Demands his diary

D. Demands his diary.
Susan asks him to get his diary, tired of negotiating, forcing him to comply with her wishes.

39. What outing had Susan planned that the narrator intended to ruin?

A. Trip to America
B. A weekend away
C. Visit to his mother
D. Dinner with friends

B. A weekend away.
Susan was looking forward to the weekend trip to the country hotel they had previously visited.
40. What specific fear from his childhood does the narrator recall?

A. Fear of his rage
B. Fear of the police
C. Fear of heights
D. Fear of success

B. Fear of the police.
His childhood was characterised by fear, including fear of teachers, police, vicars, and severe punishments.

41. What did Victor call the narrator when he asked about his whereabouts?

A. A lost cause
B. A coward
C. A pathetic mess
D. An AWOL policeman

D. An AWOL policeman.
Victor jokes that people might think he is an AWOL policeman because of his unusual, individual dancing style.

42. What did Asif and Najma read aloud to one another in the conservatory?

A. Christina Rossetti
B. French philosophy
C. Shakespeare’s plays
D. The latest news

A. Christina Rossetti.
Asif told the narrator that he and his wife, Najma, read poetry by Christina Rossetti aloud to one another.

43. What did the narrator want to do with Najma in the garden?

A. Kiss and push her
B. Ask for advice
C. Offer his help
D. Discuss his plans

A. Kiss and push her.
The narrator felt a strong impulse to kiss Najma and push her into the bedroom, testing or smashing their happiness.

44. What idea did Asif initially refuse to do for the narrator?

A. Hide his money
B. Lie for him
C. Lend his car
D. Take the children

B. Lie for him.
The narrator asked Asif to lie to Susan and say he had been with him when he was actually with Nina.
45. What did Asif call the narrator, who only reads the first chapters?

A. A brave explorer
B. A stubborn reader
C. A nervous person
D. A difficult fool

B. A stubborn reader.
Asif compared him to someone who only reads the first chapter of a book, never discovering what follows.

46. What structure does the narrator ultimately call “the original anarchist”?

A. The family unit
B. Sexual desire
C. The television
D. His own mind

B. Sexual desire.
The narrator describes desire as the original anarchist and undercover agent that mocks all human endeavour.

47. What did the narrator compare his professional work (adaptations) to?

A. Turning gold to dross
B. Creating great art
C. Engineering
D. Philosophical thought

A. Turning gold to dross.
Asif described the narrator’s work of adapting literature for the screen as “Turning gold into dross”.

48. Which literary figure did Father want the narrator to emulate by becoming a doctor?

A. Somerset Maugham
B. Chekhov
C. Freud
D. Marx

B. Chekhov.
The narrator admits he considered becoming a doctor, influenced by his admiration for Chekhov.

49. What does the narrator fear about Susan finding a new man?

A. He will be richer
B. He will hate the kids
C. He will be an outsider
D. He will stop working

C. He will be an outsider.
The narrator fears becoming an outsider, waiting in the car while a new man is inside the house.
50. What specific part of Nina’s body did she allow the narrator to masturbate on?

A. Her head
B. Her back
C. Her hands
D. Her arm

B. Her back.
Nina encouraged him to masturbate on her back, stomach, or feet while she was asleep or resting.

Brief Overview

Intimacy is a novel by Hanif Kureishi, published in 1998. The work is a short, intense novel that is considered both autobiographical and fictional. It focuses on a middle-aged writer’s decision to leave his long-term partner and children abruptly.

The novel begins on “the saddest night.” The narrator, Jay, is planning to leave his partner, Susan, and their two young sons after six years together.

Jay feels restless, uncertain, and trembling with fear about this action. He knows that his choice will deeply damage and scar his children. He believes he must leave his family to find something new, having lost all curiosity about Susan.

Jay plans to leave the next morning after Susan goes to work. He decides he will stay temporarily at his friend Victor’s place, sleeping on the floor. He admits that their home life is full of constant tension and arguments. He also confesses that he has betrayed Susan every day by constantly thinking of another woman named Nina.

Jay goes upstairs but does not tell Susan he is leaving. She instinctively moves away from him as he lies beside her. The next day, after Susan leaves for work, Jay quickly packs his bags. He writes a short note saying he will not come back. Jay leaves for Victor’s apartment. Victor greets him, confirms “It is done,” and tells Jay that Nina has called, giving Jay a sense of happiness and new possibilities.

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