Intruder in the Dust MCQs

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Author: Nasir Iqbal | Assistant Professor of English Literature


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

Intruder in the Dust MCQs

1. Who was the white man Lucas Beauchamp allegedly killed?

A. Carothers Edmonds
B. Vinson Gowrie
C. Nub Gowrie
D. Jake Montgomery

B. Vinson Gowrie.
The town knew Lucas had killed Vinson Gowrie, a white man, the Saturday before the sheriff brought Lucas in.

2. Where was the boy (Chick) standing when the sheriff arrived with Lucas?

A. Jail front
B. Blacksmith shop
C. Post office
D. Edmonds’ place

B. Blacksmith shop.
Chick was across the street from the jail, under the shed of the closed blacksmith’s shop, waiting for the mail.

3. How old was the boy (Chick) when he ate a meal in Lucas Beauchamp’s house?

A. Twelve years old
B. Fifteen years
C. Sixteen years
D. Ten years old

A. Twelve years old.
The incident at Lucas’s house happened four years prior to the novel’s main events, when Chick was twelve.

4. Who was the family friend who invited the boy to go rabbit hunting?

A. Gavin Stevens
B. Aleck Sander
C. Carothers Edmonds
D. Lucas Beauchamp

C. Carothers Edmonds.
Carothers Edmonds, a friend of Chick’s uncle, invited the boy to come rabbit hunting at his home.
5. Who was the boy’s companion who joined him on the hunting trip?

A. Carothers Edmonds
B. Aleck Sander
C. Joe Edmonds
D. Lucas Beauchamp

B. Aleck Sander.
Chick brought Aleck Sander along with him when he went home with Edmonds for the hunt.

6. What body of water did the boy fall into during the hunt?

A. Nine Mile branch
B. Creek running
C. Drainage ditch
D. Standing water

B. Creek running.
The boy fell off a footlog and plunged into the creek, remembering the thin bright tinkle of breaking ice.

7. What did Aleck Sander use for a weapon when hunting rabbits?

A. Small rifle
B. Heavy tapstick
C. Shotgun only
D. Long thin pole

B. Heavy tapstick.
Aleck Sander carried a heavy tapstick—a bolted railroad nut on a broom-handle—for striking rabbits.

8. What kind of coat was Lucas Beauchamp wearing when Chick first saw him?

A. Long fur coat
B. Heavy sheep-lined
C. Plain cotton
D. Worn broadcloth

B. Heavy sheep-lined.
When Chick saw Lucas for the first time, Lucas was wearing a heavy sheep-lined coat and gum boots.

9. What relationship did Lucas Beauchamp have to old Carothers McCaslin?

A. Former slave
B. Slave and son
C. Tenant farmer
D. Distant relative

B. Slave and son.
Lucas was the son of one of Edmonds’ great-grandfather’s slaves, and also Carothers McCaslin’s son.
10. What object did Lucas Beauchamp turn back to retrieve from the mantel?

A. Kerosene lamp
B. Gold toothpick
C. Patchwork quilt
D. Old felt hat

B. Gold toothpick.
Lucas took a gold toothpick, such as Chick’s grandfather used, from the mantel and put it into his mouth.

11. What type of chair was Molly Beauchamp sitting in when Chick entered the house?

A. Kitchen stool
B. Rocking chair
C. Dining chair
D. Grand Rapids

B. Rocking chair.
Lucas’s wife, Molly, a tiny old woman, was sitting in a rocking chair beside the glowing fire.

12. What food was served to Chick in Lucas’s kitchen?

A. Collard greens
B. Fried chicken
C. Ham biscuits
D. Cornmeal mush

A. Collard greens.
Chick ate collard greens, fried sidemeat, half-cooked biscuits, and buttermilk, which he dismissed as “nigger food.”

13. What piece of furniture displayed a framed portrait of Lucas and Molly?

A. Tester bed
B. Grand Rapids dresser
C. Gold easel
D. Oilcloth table

C. Gold easel.
A gold-framed portrait group of Lucas and Molly sat on a gold-painted easel in the corner.

14. What was the monetary value of the coins Chick tried to give Lucas?

A. Seventy cents
B. A half-dollar
C. Two dollars
D. Four nickels

A. Seventy cents.
Chick offered a half-dollar, a dime, and two nickels, which totaled seventy cents, but referred to them as ‘four shameful fragments.’
15. What did Lucas do when Chick flung the money onto the floor?

A. Picked it up
B. Ordered boys
C. Ignored the coin
D. Shouted in rage

B. Ordered boys.
Lucas commanded Aleck Sander and Edmonds’ boy to pick up the money and return it to Chick.

16. What belief did Chick wrestle with immediately after the incident?

A. Lucas was kind
B. Lucas was brave
C. Lucas was arrogant
D. Lucas was superior

D. Lucas was superior.
Chick felt Lucas had beaten him and concluded, “We got to make him be a nigger first.”

17. How did Lucas identify himself when confronted at the crossroads store?

A. Edmonds relative
B. Carothers McCaslin
C. I’m a McCaslin
D. Honest farmer

C. I’m a McCaslin.
Lucas stated to the angry white man: “I ain’t an Edmonds… I’m a McCaslin,” claiming his heritage.

18. What object did the angry white man snatch up to strike Lucas with?

A. Heavy pistol
B. Plow singletree
C. Barrel stave
D. Broken bottle

B. Plow singletree.
The white man snatched a plow singletree from the counter and started a downswing toward Lucas.

19. What gift did Chick eventually send Molly Beauchamp by mail?

A. Gold toothpick
B. Patchwork quilt
C. Imitation silk dress
D. Sack of molasses

C. Imitation silk dress.
To discharge the shame of the coins, Chick bought and sent Molly a flowered imitation silk dress.
20. What item did Lucas send Chick as a return gift in September?

A. Homemade biscuits
B. Sorghum molasses
C. A new shotgun
D. Rabbit pie

B. Sorghum molasses.
Lucas sent Chick a gallon bucket of homemade sorghum molasses, returning the debt without interaction.

21. How did Chick learn that Molly Beauchamp, Lucas’s wife, had died?

A. Read obituary
B. Uncle told him
C. Saw the funeral
D. Lucas mentioned it

B. Uncle told him.
Chick learned that Lucas’s old wife, Molly, had died a year ago from his uncle.

22. Why did Chick realize Lucas usually came to town only once a year?

A. Visit Edmonds
B. Pay yearly taxes
C. See his daughter
D. Shop for clothes

B. Pay yearly taxes.
Chick realized Lucas only came in once a year, in January or February, to pay his land taxes.

23. In which specific “Beat” of the county did Vinson Gowrie’s murder occur?

A. Beat One
B. Beat Four
C. Beat Nine
D. Beat Two

B. Beat Four.
Vinson Gowrie was killed in Beat Four, which was infamous for its violence and independence.

24. Who was Carothers Edmonds, on whose place Lucas lived, undergoing surgery for?

A. Broken leg
B. Appendicitis
C. Gallstones
D. Heart trouble

C. Gallstones.
Edmonds was absent from his place, lying in a New Orleans hospital for an operation for gallstones.
25. Who was the country constable who initially held Lucas Beauchamp prisoner?

A. Skipworth
B. Nub Gowrie
C. Will Legate
D. Doyle Fraser

A. Skipworth.
Constable Skipworth took Lucas into custody and chained him to a bedpost until the sheriff arrived.

26. What was the sheriff’s name?

A. Gavin Stevens
B. Charley Mallison
C. Hope Hampton
D. Willy Ingrum

C. Hope Hampton.
The sheriff of Yoknapatawpha County, responsible for retrieving Lucas, was named Hope Hampton.

27. What was the narrator’s (Chick’s) uncle’s name?

A. Charley
B. Gavin
C. Hope
D. Vinson

B. Gavin.
Chick’s uncle and County Attorney, who went to Lucas’s cell, was named Gavin Stevens.

28. What profession or county office did Chick’s uncle hold?

A. Sheriff
B. District Attorney
C. County Attorney
D. Judge

C. County Attorney.
Chick’s uncle had studied law at the State University to get himself chosen as County Attorney.

29. Who was guarding the front door of the jail on Sunday night?

A. The jailer
B. Will Legate
C. Aleck Sander
D. Chick Mallison

B. Will Legate.
Will Legate, a local woodsman and fine shot, was sitting by the front door with a shotgun.
30. What was the jailer’s name?

A. Mr. Tubbs
B. Mr. Lilley
C. Mr. Edmonds
D. Mr. Stevens

A. Mr. Tubbs.
The worried and harried jailer, who complained about his duties, was referred to as Mr. Tubbs.

31. Where did the jailer say he put Lucas Beauchamp in the jail?

A. Bullpen area
B. Small cell
C. Back office
D. Upstairs hall

B. Small cell.
Lucas was locked in a small cell, not the bullpen with the other Negroes, according to Hampton’s orders.

32. What kind of gun did Lucas claim was not used to shoot Vinson Gowrie?

A. German Luger
B. Forty-one Colt
C. Deer rifle
D. Double barrel

B. Forty-one Colt.
Lucas stated, “He wasn’t shot with no fawty-one Colt,” referring to his own archaic pistol.

33. What item did old Ephraim, a Negro man, claim he could find for Chick’s mother?

A. Watch chain
B. Missing ring
C. Gold toothpick
D. Stolen money

B. Missing ring.
Chick remembered old Ephraim offering to find his mother’s cheap ring for half a dollar.

34. How many miles away was the Caledonia Chapel cemetery, according to Lucas?

A. Seventeen miles
B. Nine miles
C. Three miles
D. One mile

B. Nine miles.
Lucas specified that the Caledonia Chapel burial site was nine miles from town, not seventeen.
35. Who came to Chick’s house after the jail visit and asked what Lucas had said?

A. Aleck Sander
B. Miss Habersham
C. Chick’s mother
D. Carothers Edmonds

B. Miss Habersham.
Miss Habersham met Chick in the back yard, whispering urgently to know what Lucas had told him.

36. What was Miss Habersham’s mode of transportation to Chick’s house?

A. Old buggy
B. Pickup truck
C. Carothers’ car
D. Shetland pony

B. Pickup truck.
Miss Habersham drove a weathered, second-hand pickup truck, used for selling chickens and vegetables.

37. What material object did Miss Habersham carry to mark her position in life?

A. Gold wrist watch
B. Round black hat
C. Small gold watch
D. Pearl necklace

C. Small gold watch.
She wore a small gold watch in a hunting case, suspended by a brooch on her chest.

38. What was Aleck Sander’s immediate reaction when Chick told him they must dig up Vinson Gowrie?

A. Agreed quickly
B. Laughed wryly
C. Ran away fast
D. Called his mother

B. Laughed wryly.
Aleck Sander started laughing, “not loud and with no mirth,” and immediately tried to excuse himself.

39. What kind of trees surrounded the cemetery where Vinson Gowrie was buried?

A. Oak and elm
B. Pine trees
C. Cottonwoods
D. Willow and birch

B. Pine trees.
The church stood “among the trunks of the high strong constant shaggy pines” at the crest of the ridge.
40. Whose name was engraved on the headstone next to Vinson Gowrie’s raw mound?

A. Amanda Workitt
B. Molly Beauchamp
C. Nub Gowrie
D. Jake Montgomery

A. Amanda Workitt.
The nearest headstone bore the name Amanda Workitt, wife of N. B. Forrest Gowrie.

41. Whose body did Chick and his companions find when they opened Vinson Gowrie’s coffin?

A. Lucas Beauchamp
B. Jake Montgomery
C. Crawford Gowrie
D. An unknown man

B. Jake Montgomery.
When they opened the coffin, they found the body of Jake Montgomery, not Vinson Gowrie.

42. What event did the crowd wait for before they planned to lynch Lucas?

A. Edmonds’ return
B. Sheriff’s departure
C. Burial and Sunday
D. Trial verdict

C. Burial and Sunday.
The crowd was waiting until Vinson Gowrie was buried and Sunday had passed before acting.

43. What did Gavin Stevens call the belief that injustice can be abolished overnight by police?

A. Practical approach
B. National policy
C. Based on laws
D. Foolish idea

C. Based on laws.
Gavin warned against federal laws based on the idea that man’s injustice can be abolished overnight by police.

44. What object did Lucas use for a pillow when sleeping in the jail cell?

A. Clean towel
B. Patchwork quilt
C. One of his shoes
D. Newspaper wad

C. One of his shoes.
Lucas was lying on spread newspapers, using one of his own shoes as a pillow for his head.
45. What quality did Chick’s uncle attribute to women and children that made them effective?

A. They are truthful
B. They are curious
C. They aren’t cluttered
D. They are strong

C. They aren’t cluttered.
Gavin Stevens quoted Ephraim, saying women and children “aint cluttered,” meaning they can accept truth.

46. What object did Lucas offer to pay his lawyer’s fee with, along with paper money?

A. Gold watch
B. Copper pennies
C. Silver coins
D. Gold chain

B. Copper pennies.
Lucas Beauchamp offered to pay his lawyer Gavin Stevens’s fee with paper money and an old Spanish doubloon.

47. Who murdered Vinson Gowrie?

A. Lucas Beauchamp
B. Jake Montgomery
C. Buddy McCallum
D. Crawford Gowrie

D. Crawford Gowrie.
Crawford Gowrie killed his brother Vinson to prevent the discovery of the lumber he was stealing.

48. What was Crawford Gowrie stealing from his partner, Vinson Gowrie?

A. Farm equipment
B. Raw timber
C. Sawed lumber
D. Cotton seeds

C. Sawed lumber.
Crawford Gowrie was stealing loads of sawed lumber that he and Vinson were supposed to sell together later.

49. What kind of building did the church at Caledonia resemble?

A. Plank steepleless box
B. Elegant structure
C. Colonial house
D. Granite temple

A. Plank steepleless box.
The church was described as a simple “plank steepleless box” resembling the small cabins of hill people.
50. What philosophical idea did Gavin Stevens claim the South was protecting by resisting federal intervention?

A. Economic stability
B. Their homogeneity
C. Racial superiority
D. Personal vengeance

B. Their homogeneity.
Gavin Stevens argued that they were defending their homogeneity from the federal government, which they valued highly.

Brief Overview

Intruder in the Dust by William Faulkner was first published in 1948. The novel is a suspenseful story that examines racial prejudice, moral responsibility, and justice in the American South.

The story centers on Lucas Beauchamp, an independent Black man who lives with dignity. Lucas is arrested for killing a white man named Vinson Gowrie. Many people in the county, especially the powerful Gowrie family, quickly gather and plan to lynch Lucas without a trial.

A white boy, Chick Mallison, knows Lucas personally. Four years earlier, Lucas helped Chick after he fell into an icy creek. Lucas refused the 70 cents Chick offered as payment, a refusal that caused Chick years of shame regarding their unequal relationship.

While in jail, Lucas sends for Chick’s uncle, Lawyer Gavin Stevens. Lucas insists that Chick must help him prove his innocence. Lucas tells Chick that the victim was not shot with his own .41 Colt pistol.

Chick, his Black friend Aleck Sander, and Miss Habersham, an old white woman, drive out to the cemetery at night. They dig up Vinson’s grave. Inside, they find the body of Jake Montgomery, not Vinson Gowrie.

They inform the sheriff and Chick’s uncle. The officials investigate and discover that Vinson’s own brother, Crawford Gowrie, was the killer. Crawford had killed Montgomery to hide his crime and had buried Vinson in quicksand. The white community, which had gathered for a lynching, ran away after the truth was exposed, abandoning the shame of fratricide. Lucas is then released from jail.

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