Islands in the Stream MCQs

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Author: Nasir Iqbal | Assistant Professor of English Literature

Islands in the Stream MCQs
Updated on: October 28, 2025
Estimated Reading Time: 20 min

Islands in the Stream MCQs

1. Where is Thomas Hudson’s house built on Bimini?

A. Near the main marketplace
B. Between the harbor and the open sea
C. On the highest hill overlooking the port
D. Next to the casuarina trees

B. Between the harbor and the open sea.
The house is located on the land tongue separating the open sea from the island’s harbor.

2. What is the primary danger to bathers off the beach at night?

A. Strong offshore currents
B. Barracuda attacks
C. Sharks coming close to shore
D. Sudden tropical squalls

C. Sharks are coming close to shore.
Sharks actively hunt near the beach in the edge of the Stream at night, but they stay away during the day.

3. What is Thomas Hudson’s profession?

A. A writer and boat captain
B. A dealer in antique furniture
C. A well-known painter
D. A retired military officer

C. A well-known painter.
Thomas Hudson is identified as a man who is a good painter and who works there most of the year.

4. What structural feature does the house possess that makes it comfortable during winter?

A. Heavy insulation
B. The only fireplace on the island
C. A deep, protected cellar
D. Cross-ventilation

B. The only fireplace on the island.
In winter, the house is warm and comfortable because it possesses the sole fireplace on the entire island.
5. How does Thomas Hudson primarily view and refer to his house?

A. A fortress
B. A safe harbor
C. Her, like a ship
D. His sanctuary

C. Her, like a ship.
Thomas Hudson always thinks of the house as “her,” exactly as he would refer to a ship.

6. How did Thomas Hudson primarily handle his feelings of guilt and loneliness?

A. By socializing constantly
B. By leaving the island frequently
C. By replacing them with dedicated work
D. By studying philosophy

C. By replacing them with dedicated work.
He had exorcised guilt with work and believed he had built a steady, lasting normal working life on the island.

7. How long were the two younger boys scheduled to visit Thomas Hudson?

A. Four months
B. Five weeks
C. The entire summer
D. Until Christmas

B. Five weeks.
A compromise was made with their mother, allowing the two younger boys to visit their father for five weeks.

8. What characteristic defines the mother of the two younger boys in making her plans?

A. Flexibility
B. Complete secrecy and rigidity
C. Open consultation
D. Frequent compromise

B. Complete secrecy and rigidity.
Her plans were always made in secret, like a general’s, and were rigidly enforced with little possibility of basic change.

9. What physical characteristics mark the oldest boy, young Tom?

A. Fair hair and a muscular build
B. Dark, with long legs and a swimmer’s build
C. A quiet temperament and small stature
D. Red hair and a freckled face

B. Dark, with long legs and a swimmer’s build.
Young Tom is described as long and dark, with Thomas Hudson’s neck and shoulders, and long swimmer’s legs.
10. Which animal does the middle boy, David, primarily resemble?

A. A sleek seal
B. A humorous otter
C. A protective bear
D. A quick deer

B. A humorous otter.
David is described as having the same hair color and texture as an otter’s fur, reminiscent of a humorous small animal.

11. What skill is the youngest boy, Andrew, noted for?

A. Outstanding academic talent
B. Exceptional speed in running
C. Being an excellent athlete, good with horses
D. Great musical talent

C. Being an excellent athlet,e good with horses.
Andrew is described as a precocious, excellent athlete who has been marvelous with horses since he first rode.

12. What did young Tom’s mother give Thomas Hudson for Christmas instead of a shotgun?

A. A silver flask
B. A carving knife
C. A slingshot
D. A fishing reel

C. A slingshot.
Young Tom’s mother, lacking money for a shotgun, gave Thomas Hudson the other slingshot for Christmas.

13. What famous literary figure did young Tom know when he was a baby in Paris?

A. F. Scott Fitzgerald
B. Ernest Hemingway
C. James Joyce
D. Gertrude Stein

C. James Joyce.
Young Tom remembers Mr. Joyce, with whom he and his father were friends in Paris. This shows their bohemian past.

14. What painful memory does Roger confess regarding his brother?

A. His brother was killed in the war
B. He failed to save his brother from drowning
C. His brother died of a childhood illness
D. He betrayed his brother during a fight

B. He failed to save his brother from drowning.
Roger confesses that his younger brother drowned in cold water after a canoe overturned, and he could not save him.
15. What item does the rude gentleman from the yacht return with after the bar fight?

A. A large hunting knife
B. A silver cane
C. A shotgun
D. A long piece of rope

C. A shotgun.
The man comes out of his cabin wearing pajama trousers and a top, but what everyone notices is the shotgun.

16. What animal’s fin alerts the men to the great shark near David?

A. A whale shark’s tail
B. An observation plane
C. The hammerhead’s high triangular fin
D. A small porpoise

C. The hammerhead’s high triangular fin.
The man sees the high triangular fin coming in toward David, describing it like a brown dinghy sail slicing the water.

17. Who ultimately shoots the attacking hammerhead shark?

A. Thomas Hudson
B. David
C. Roger Davis
D. Eddy

D. Eddy.
Eddy fires a submachine gun in a short, tight burst into the base of the shark’s fin, causing it to flip over.

18. What physical description of Audrey Bruce (Audrey Raeburn) reminds Thomas Hudson of Young Tom’s mother?

A. Her height and build
B. Her tawny hair and lovely legs
C. Her small upturning curls at the nape of her neck
D. Her eyes and the way she smiled

B. Her tawny hair and lovely legs.
Thomas Hudson notes her lovely legs, great body, and tawny hair, which are strong enough to remind him of Tom’s mother.

19. What physical sensation does Thomas Hudson relate the feeling of a double frozen daiquiri to?

A. The warmth of a fire
B. Downhill glacier skiing
C. The cold of deep water
D. A rapid heartbeat

B. Downhill glacier skiing.
The frozen daiquiris felt, as Thomas Hudson drank them, like “downhill glacier skiing feels running through powder snow.”
20. What is the fate of Andrew and David, as revealed in the radio message?

A. They are injured at sea
B. They were killed in a motor accident
C. They were captured by enemy forces
D. They were lost while sailing

B. They were killed in a motor accident.
A radio message from the bank reports that David and Andrew were killed with their mother in a motor accident near Biarritz.

21. Where is the main setting of the second part of the novel, where Thomas Hudson lives and works?

A. Havana
B. New York
C. The farm (Finca) outside Havana
D. The Florida Keys

C. The farm (Finca) outside Havana.
Thomas Hudson lives on his property (the Finca) outside Havana and is only driven into the city when necessary.

22. What is the name of Thomas Hudson’s primary black and white cat?

A. Willy
B. Goats
C. Princessa
D. Boise

D. Boise.
The man is regularly seen interacting with and talking to his cat, Boise (short for the cruiser Boise).

23. What unique quality of Thomas Hudson’s perfect “princess” does he dream of?

A. She must be rich and politically influential
B. She must be an unfaithful woman
C. She must be grave and delicate, then wanton and shameless
D. She must be much older than him

C. She must be grave and delicate, then wanton and shameless.
He dreams she must be “as grave and as delicate and as beautiful as Princessa” and then “shameless and as wanton in their bed.”

24. What primary luxury ingredient does Thomas Hudson request in his Tom Collins?

A. Aged Caribbean rum
B. Fresh coconut water
C. Imported tonic water
D. Angostura bitters

B. Fresh coconut water.
Thomas Hudson asks Mario to make him a Tom Collins with coconut water and bitters. This was a particular drink request.
25. What is the profession of young Tom’s mother (the first wife) during the Cuban section?

A. A professor
B. A USO employee
C. A war journalist
D. An actress

B. A USO employee.
When she visits Havana, she is wearing a uniform and identifies her group as USO. This was her wartime job.

26. What does Thomas Hudson consider the main problem with the poor neighborhoods in Havana?

A. Political corruption
B. Crime and violence
C. Dirt, poverty, and general suffering
D. Lack of police protection

C. Dirt, poverty, and general suffering.
He lists the “poverty, dirt, four-hundred-year-old dust, the nose-snot of children,” among the things he drinks against.

27. Who is the gentleman who proposes a political platform based on the “lack of an aqueduct”?

A. Henry Wood
B. Ignacio Natera Revello
C. The Alcalde Peor (Worse Mayor)
D. Fred Archer

C. The Alcalde Peor (Worse Mayor).
Thomas Hudson and his politician friend create a platform around the necessary and eternal lack of an adequate aqueduct.

28. What is Thomas Hudson’s reaction when Ignacio Natera Revello proposes a toast to his dead son, Tom?

A. He joins the toast immediately
B. He becomes quietly angry and curses the Latin phrase
C. He asks Ignacio to leave
D. He starts crying uncontrollably

B. He becomes quietly angry and curses the Latin phrase.
Thomas Hudson rejects the Latin phrase for dying for one’s country, saying, “In the pig’s asshole,” expressing his deep grief.

29. What does Honest Lil confess she hates hearing men speak about?

A. Politics and money
B. Their wives and themselves were crying
C. Their failures in war
D. Drinking too much

B. Their wives and they were crying.
She hates two things: men crying, and men speaking against their wives. This is a clear statement of her personal biases.
30. What literary work does Thomas Hudson recall reading that made him feel sick inside, despite being far away?

A. Time magazine’s Milestones
B. Ulysses
C. Dante’s Inferno
D. The New Yorker

A. Time magazine’s Milestones.
He reads the “Milestones” section of Time, which carries the news of the boys’ deaths, and feels sick. This brings him immense grief.

31. Thomas Hudson’s first wife says she loves him but is “in love” with whom?

A. Roger Davis
B. A general
C. A man who is nice, like children
D. A professional soldier

C. A man who is nice, like children.
She tells Thomas Hudson she is in love with someone who is “nice, this one, like children are nice” and that she is necessary to him.

32. What specific object does Thomas Hudson ask his wife to save for the cats at the Finca?

A. Cooked fish
B. Canned milk
C. Raw eggs
D. Bananas

C. Raw eggs.
When leaving for his mission, he tells her to give his eggs, or one of them, to Boise for the cats at the Finca.
33. What is the fate of Young Tom, according to Thomas Hudson’s later conversation with his wife?

A. Died in a boating accident
B. Shot down in a Spitfire
C. Missing in action
D. Got killed

B. Shot down in a Spitfire.
Thomas Hudson tells her Tom was shot down by a flak ship in a sweep off Abbeville. This was another crushing loss.

34. What does Thomas Hudson’s wife conclude about their relationship, despite their separation?

A. It was entirely based on conflict
B. They were both beautiful and always loved each other
C. They were rivals who could never be reconciled
D. It was purely a physical connection

B. They were both beautiful and always loved each other.
She cries that they were “so young and stúpid and we were both beautiful and Tommy was so damned beautiful.”
35. What is the emotional state Thomas Hudson’s wife experiences immediately after learning about Tom’s death?

A. Violently weeping
B. Anger and bitterness
C. Shaking, trembling, and feeling hollow sick
D. Instant acceptance

C. Shaking, trembling, and feeling hollow sick.
She kneels, shaking and trembling, and says, “I wish I could break down, but I’m just hollow sick.”

36. What is the primary evidence that Thomas Hudson finds indicating the massacre victims were killed by the U-boat crew?

A. A German flag
B. 9mm Schmeisser machine pistol bullets
C. German-made uniforms
D. Enemy maps left behind

B. 9mm Schmeisser machine pistol bullets.
After sifting the sand, Thomas Hudson finds four bullets identified as 9mm standard issue for the Schmeisser machine pistol.

37. What type of weapon does Thomas Hudson use to shoot the large land crab?

A. A conventional hunting rifle
B. A .357 Magnum pistol
C. A fragmentation grenade
D. A flare gun

B. A .357 Magnum pistol.
He draws his Magnum to shoot the large land crab between the eyes to test his aim. This was a practical test.

38. The dead German sailor found later on the beach was killed by whom?

A. Thomas Hudson’s crew
B. An American plane
C. A Spanish patrol
D. His own comrades

D. His own comrades.
Ara determines the sailor was shot in the spine and neck (“Rematado”) by his own people, suggesting an execution by the U-boat crew.

39. Ara defines the “pride without vanity” that the men possess as having what three elements?

A. Honor, discipline, and courage
B. Failure, shit, and death
C. Loyalty, strength, and love
D. Work, rest, and sobriety

B. Failure, shit, and death.
Ara states that their pride’s companions are: “Failure is its brother and shit is its sister and death is its wife.”
40. What is Peters’ role aboard Thomas Hudson’s boat?

A. Cook
B. Radio operator
C. Engine mechanic
D. Helmsman

B. Radio operator.
Peters is constantly referenced in relation to the radio and the challenges of communicating with Guantánamo. This was his vital mission role.

41. What is the ship’s position after Thomas Hudson changes course when he is abeam of a specific light?

A. Headed into the heavy sea
B. Headed home to pasture in the channel
C. Running toward the open sea
D. Running toward Havana

B. Headed home to pasture in the channel.
After passing the light, Thomas Hudson changes course and says, “Now she is headed home to pasture,” as the sea is astern.

42. How does Willie describe his state of mind to Thomas Hudson?

A. Confident and fully functional
B. Suffering from constant nightmares
C. Half crázy, like Thomas Hudson
D. Ready to quit the mission

C. Half crázy, like Thomas Hudson.
Willie tells Thomas Hudson, “I’m half crázy and you’re half crázy and then we’ve got this crew of half saints and desperate men.”

43. Who is the Basque crewman known for being physically strong and agile?

A. Ara
B. Willie
C. George
D. Gil

A. Ara.
Ara is a big man who lands as lightly as an acrobat but with the weight of steel, making him agile and strong.

44. Why does Thomas Hudson take Peters along when going to board the turtle boat?

A. Peters is the best shot
B. He needs Peters to speak German to the enemy
C. Peters insisted on going
D. He wants to expose Peters to danger

B. He needs Peters to speak German to the enemy.
Thomas Hudson states he needs Peters because he “speaks German” and might talk them out of a fight.
45. How does Peters die on the turtle boat?

A. From the explosion of a grenade
B. Shot by Thomas Hudson accidentally
C. Shot by a wounded German sailor
D. Falling overboard and drowning

C. Shot by a wounded German sailor.
A German sailor hiding below deck shoots Peters when he appears in the hatch. This was an unexpected and quick death.

46. What type of improvised bomb does Gil throw with great accuracy?

A. A tin can filled with powder
B. A gasoline bottle
C. A dynamite-rigged fire extinguisher
D. A standard Naval shell

C. A dynamite-rigged fire extinguisher.
Gil lobs a brass cylinder which is revealed to be a fire extinguisher rigged with dynamite. This was an effective improvised weapon.
47. What does Willie and Ara do to the turtle boat to guarantee it sinks?

A. They fire multiple torpedoes at it
B. They shoot holes through the hull
C. They throw multiple grenades into the hatches
D. They chop it apart with a machete

C. They throw multiple grenades into the hatches.
After the first German is killed, Thomas Hudson and Willie toss several grenades into the hatches, causing the boat to settle quickly.

48. After the turtle boat fight, what is revealed about the German escape party?

A. They had stolen a speedboat
B. They sank their skiff and fled by land
C. They were all killed, except one guide
D. They sank their skiff and cut the sail up

D. They sank their skiff and cut the sail up.
Willie reports that Ara chopped the skiff open with a machete and cut up the sail so it could not be repaired.

49. What is Thomas Hudson’s decision regarding the captured enemy position after the fighting stops?

A. To send Willie in alone for a reconnaissance
B. To continue pounding the key with firepower
C. To tow the turtle boat back to the ship
D. To leave the area and report to headquarters

B. To continue pounding the key with firepower.
Thomas Hudson decides to “go in now and finish it” and continue blasting the area where the Germans are hiding.
50. What is Thomas Hudson’s final internal reflection before his wounds overcome him?

A. He hopes to see his wife again
B. He must survive to paint the sea
C. He regrets not taking the morphine earlier
D. He hopes the Germans suffer

B. He must survive to paint the sea.
He decides he “must hold hard to life” because if he paints as well as he can, it is the true thing.

Brief Overview

The novel by Ernest Hemingway is about the life of Thomas Hudson. He is a good painter who lives on an island called Bimini. His house is strong, built like a ship.

Thomas Hudson loves the island and its changing seasons. He works hard at his painting. He is happy because his three sons are coming to visit him for five weeks. The boys are young Tom, David, and Andrew.

The man loves his children greatly. He is happy just hearing them breathe at night. He tries to overcome past guilt and loneliness with work.

The boys arrive, bringing fun and breaking his habits of living alone. Thomas Hudson worries about his son, David, during an intense battle with a huge swordfish. David fights for hours but loses the great fish.

The novel then moves to Cuba, after Thomas Hudson receives shocking news. His sons, David and Andrew, were killed in a motor accident with their mother. A telegram tells him the news.

Later, Thomas Hudson goes to sea on his boat, hunting German U-boat survivors. During a gunfight in a narrow channel, he is severely wounded. He continues the pursuit but is near death. He reflects on his duty and losses in his final moments.

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