Leaf Storm MCQs

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Author: Nasir Iqbal | Assistant Professor of English Literature

Leaf Storm MCQs
Updated on: November 3, 2025
Estimated Reading Time: 15 min

Leaf Storm MCQs

1. What is the day the boy attends the funeral?

A. Sunday
B. Tuesday
C. Wednesday
D. Thursday

C. Wednesday.
The boy observes that although he is dressed up, the day he is attending the funeral is Wednesday.

2. What colour suit is the boy wearing to the funeral?

A. Black corduroy
B. White linen
C. Green corduroy
D. Grey suit

C. Green corduroy.
The narrator mentions being dressed in a green corduroy suit, which is tight in some places.

3. What physical ailment limits the grandfather’s movement?

A. Bad sight
B. Bad limp
C. Deafness
D. Hand trembling

B. Bad limp.
The grandfather limps and uses a cane to guide himself along because he has poor vision in the dark.

4. What is tied around the dead man’s jawbone?

A. Tight belt
B. Rope
C. Handkerchief
D. Cord

C. Handkerchief.
The boy observes that the corpse has a wax-like head and a handkerchief tied securely around the jawbone.
5. What does the corpse look like to the boy?

A. Quiet, asleep
B. Awake and enraged
C. Perfectly peaceful
D. Sickly, defeated

B. Awake and enraged.
The boy initially thought the dead man would look asleep but sees he looks awake and in a rage.

6. What type of hat is the mother wearing?

A. New sunhat
B. Felt cap
C. Old straw hat
D. Bridal veil

C. Old straw hat.
The mother wears an old straw hat that comes down over her ears, pulled on in a hurry.

7. Why do the men put lime inside the coffin?

A. Preserve the body
B. Censor smell
C. Follow custom
D. For burial weight

B. Censor smell.
The men empty a sack of lime into the coffin, which is intended to absorb the smell of decomposition.

8. What was forgotten on the bed after the Doctor was placed in the coffin?

A. Watch
B. Right shoe
C. Cane
D. Glasses

B. Right shoe.
One shoe was forgotten on the bed, and the grandfather had to lift the lid to put it inside.

9. What time does the boy associate with the train whistling at the last bend?

A. Noon
B. Two-thirty
C. Three o’clock
D. Four o’clock

B. Two-thirty.
The boy hears the train whistle, realising it is the time schoolboys line up for afternoon classes.
10. What is the mother upset about regarding the burial ceremony?

A. Public mockery
B. Public ridicule
C. Lack of attendees
D. Husband’s promise

B. Public ridicule.
The mother is bothered that following the coffin will inspire only pleasure and ridicule in the town.

11. What sensation did Macondo long for regarding the Doctor?

A. Relief
B. Smell of rot
C. Justice
D. Official death

B. Smell of rot.
The town had hoped to someday “lunch on that smell” of his decomposition, satisfying long-held resentments.

12. What was the occupation of the deceased man?

A. Teacher
B. Mayor
C. Doctor
D. Priest

C. Doctor.
The boy’s mother instructs him to behave at the dead man’s funeral, referring to him as “the doctor”.

13. When did the Doctor refuse to treat the wounded men?

A. Christmas Day
B. Stormy night
C. Election night
D. During war

B. Stormy night.
Ten years before, he refused to open his door for the wounded during a stormy night of crisis.

14. What did the Doctor feed himself on for ten years?

A. Meat only
B. Courtyard vegetables
C. Bread and water
D. Nothing much

B. Courtyard vegetables.
He lived on vegetables he and his Indian mistress planted, fearing the town’s poisoned water supply.
15. What was Father Ángel’s objection to the Doctor’s burial?

A. Not enough space
B. Law infringement
C. Unconsecrated ground
D. Cost of burial

C. Unconsecrated ground.
The Father did not want a man who hanged himself without God buried in consecrated ground.

16. What did the Colonel state was his main reason for burying the Doctor?

A. Personal gratitude
B. Sacred promise
C. Daughter’s request
D. Avoiding police

B. Sacred promise.
The Colonel states he must fulfil a “sacred promise,” which his daughter thinks he made long ago.

17. What was found in the bottom drawer of the Doctor’s desk?

A. Revolver
B. False teeth
C. Money
D. Old clothes

B. False teeth.
The Colonel finds the same yellowed, unused set of false teeth the Doctor brought twenty-five years prior.

18. What was the date of the oldest unopened newspaper the Colonel found?

A. July, 1928
B. January, 1927
C. October, 1919
D. November, 1926

C. October, 1919.
The oldest unopened papers found in the desk dated back to October 1919, indicating his withdrawal.

19. Who recommended the Doctor to the Colonel twenty-five years ago?

A. The Mayor
B. The Pup
C. Aureliano Buendía
D. Meme

C. Aureliano Buendía.
The Doctor presented a letter of recommendation written by Colonel Aureliano Buendía from Panama.
20. What type of food did the Doctor ask for upon arrival?

A. Fresh fruit
B. Ordinary grass
C. Roasted meat
D. Milk and honey

B. Ordinary grass.
He requested “Ordinary grass, ma’am. The kind that donkeys eat” upon his first meal.

21. How many years ago did Meme disappear, according to Isabel?

A. Six years
B. Eleven years
C. Seventeen years
D. Twenty-five years

B. Eleven years.
Isabel states she last saw Meme eleven years ago, confirming her long absence from Macondo.

22. What kind of small business did Meme open after leaving the Colonel’s house?

A. Bakery
B. Tailor shop
C. Variety store
D. Book shop

C. Variety store.
Meme opened a small botiquín (variety store) that had grown based on neighbors’ needs.

23. What did Meme look like when she first reappeared in church?

A. Servant
B. Bride
C. Christmas tree
D. Widow

C. Christmas tree.
Her appearance was gaudy and vulgar, dressed more like a Christmas tree than a respectable lady.

24. Who escorted Meme through the crowd after church that Sunday?

A. The Doctor
B. The Colonel
C. The Mayor
D. Meme’s father

B. The Colonel.
The Colonel noticed the men closing the circle and led Meme away with a haughty expression.
25. What did the anonymous note on the Doctor’s door claim he had done to Meme?

A. Stolen money
B. Committed murder
C. Deserted her
D. Robbed the store

B. Committed murder.
The note claimed the Doctor murdered Meme and buried her in the garden, fearing he would be poisoned.

26. What does the Mayor use to test the strength of the Doctor’s suicide noose?

A. Hanging weights
B. His own hands
C. A large rock
D. A hammer

B. His own hands.
The Mayor hangs from the noose by his hands to check if the thin rope could have held the Doctor’s body.

27. What seemed to have addled the Mayor’s brains?

A. Heat
B. Cowardice
C. Liquor
D. Malaria

C. Liquor.
The Colonel concludes that the Mayor’s brains are addled not only by cowardice but by liquor.

28. What official title does the Colonel hold?

A. General
B. Judge
C. Colonel of the Republic
D. Governor

C. Colonel of the Republic.
The Colonel reminds the Mayor that he is “a Colonel of the Republic” when asserting his authority.

29. What type of toy was the dancing girl the stranger wound up?

A. Plastic
B. Clockwork
C. Leather
D. Wood

C. Leather.
The stranger (Doctor) was observed winding up the leather dancing girl on the shelf in the Colonel’s office.
30. What did Adelaida fear the Doctor was due to his staying in the house?

A. Swindler
B. The devil
C. Atheist
D. Spy

B. The devil.
Adelaida believed it was “heresy” to keep supporting him and feeding the devil in their home.

31. What did the Doctor say would pass when they got used to it?

A. The war
B. The poverty
C. The leaf storm
D. The heat

C. The leaf storm.
The Doctor spoke enthusiastically about the town’s future, saying, “All of this will pass when we get used to the leaf storm”.

32. What did the Mayor require all professionals to register in 1907?

A. Licenses
B. Degrees
C. Permits
D. Business details

B. Degrees.
The Mayor’s office required all professionals in town to register their degrees in 1907.

33. Where did the Doctor keep the money he made during his successful years?

A. Under the mattress
B. In the cabinet drawer
C. Under floorboards
D. With the Colonel

B. In the cabinet drawer.
Meme used the money the Doctor had accumulated in his cabinet drawer to open her shop.

34. What was Meme’s feeling toward the Doctor’s behaviour?

A. Love
B. Respect
C. Disillusionment
D. Hatred

C. Disillusionment.
Meme felt disillusionment recalling her past life, tied to the Doctor’s sterile, anonymous existence.
35. What condition did the barber’s daughter supposedly suffer from?

A. Deafness
B. Bewitchment
C. Fever
D. Lameness

B. Bewitchment.
She was supposedly pursued by a spirit, an invisible lover, leading people to believe she was possessed.

36. What was the name of Isabel’s fiancé/husband?

A. Pepe
B. Martín
C. Abraham
D. Tobías

B. Martín.
Isabel refers to her husband/fiancé by the name Martín throughout the narrative.

37. What did Martín promise Isabel he would take good care of until his return?

A. The house
B. Her father
C. The child
D. Her money

C. The child.
Martín made Isabel promise to take good care of the child until he came back for them.

38. What distinct item of clothing did Martín always wear?

A. Red vest
B. High boots
C. Four-button jacket
D. Wide-brim hat

C. Four-button jacket.
Martín was constantly identified by his four-button jacket, which made him look neat and formal.

39. What did the Doctor do every night in his room?

A. Sleep soundly
B. Pace constantly
C. Read French papers
D. Talk to Meme

B. Pace constantly.
The Colonel realised the Doctor would pace about his room “until dawn,” exhausting his invisible adversary.
40. What question did the Colonel ask the Doctor on the veranda that troubled him?

A. Belief in God
B. Why he stayed
C. About his family
D. Why did he eat grass

A. Belief in God.
The Colonel asked the Doctor, “Do you believe in God?”, which was the first time anyone asked him this.

41. What was the Doctor’s response regarding his belief in God?

A. Firm atheist
B. Refused to think
C. Absolute believer
D. Undecided

B. Refused to think.
He said he got equally upset thinking God exists or not, so he preferred not to think about it.

42. What did the Doctor begin doing daily during his late “adolescence”?

A. Writing letters
B. Taking a bath
C. Gardening
D. Selling goods

B. Taking a bath.
His transformation began when he stopped wearing leggings and started bathing daily and using perfume.

43. What was the popular nickname of the parish priest, Father Ángel?

A. Father Aureliano
B. The Pup
C. The Colonel
D. The Doctor

B. The Pup.
Most veterans remembered his mother’s nickname for him, and that is what he was always called.

44. What book did the Pup use for his Sunday sermons?

A. The Bible
B. Bristol Almanac
C. French journals
D. Encyclopedias

B. Bristol Almanac.
The Pup based his sermons on atmospheric predictions found in the Bristol Almanack.
45. How many times did Meme become pregnant while living with the Doctor?

A. Once
B. Twice
C. Never
D. Three times

B. Twice.
The Doctor confessed that Meme had been pregnant before, and this was the second time.

46. What was Meme’s final, defiant decision regarding the second pregnancy?

A. Keep it secret
B. Going to have it
C. Have an abortion
D. Leave Macondo

B. Going to have it.
Meme refused the Doctor’s method, stating, “This one I’m going to have so I can raise it”.

47. What did the Colonel fall into three years before the funeral?

A. Mud pit
B. Lemonade bowl
C. His hammock
D. Flowerpot

B. Lemonade bowl.
His useless leg failed, and he fell into the lemonade bowl on the veranda.

48. Who was the strange soldier who appeared to the Colonel during his hallucination?

A. Aureliano Buendía
B. Duke of Marlborough
C. The Pup
D. Ibrahim

B. Duke of Marlborough.
In his feverish hallucination, the strange soldier was exclaimed by an orderly to be “the Duke of Marlborough”.

49. What did Adelaida say she would do until Judgment Day?

A. Pray constantly
B. Stay collapsed
C. Wear black clothes
D. Never speak

B. Stay collapsed.
Due to her disillusionment and grief over the events, she vowed to stay collapsed in her chair.
50. What did Ada say the singing of curlews signalled?

A. Sunrise
B. Smell of a dead man
C. Time of day
D. Rainfall

B. The smell of a dead man.
Ada told the boy that curlews sing when they perceive the smell of a dead man.

Brief Overview

Leaf Storm is a novella by Gabriel García Márquez. It was first published in 1955. The narrative is an early example of his Magic Realism and is set in the fictional town of Macondo.

The novel centers on a death and burial on a very hot Wednesday. An old Doctor has hanged himself. The townspeople sincerely hate the Doctor and refuse to allow him a burial. The town itself is experiencing ruin, known as the “leaf storm,” following the departure of the banana company.

The story is told from the alternating perspectives of three people. They are a young boy, his mother, Isabel, and the Colonel, the boy’s grandfather. They are the only ones attending the funeral wake for the Doctor.

The Colonel feels obligated to fulfill a “sacred promise” to the Doctor. The Doctor had saved the Colonel’s life during a past illness. The town’s hatred stems from the Doctor’s refusal to treat wounded men during a conflict ten years earlier.

Isabel worries that the town’s anger will turn against her family for hosting the wake. The Colonel successfully argues with the Mayor to obtain authorization for the burial. The Colonel’s family honors their commitment despite the entire town’s rage.

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