No One Writes to the Colonel MCQs

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Author: Nasir Iqbal | Assistant Professor of English Literature

No One Writes to the Colonel MCQs
Updated on: November 3, 2025
Estimated Reading Time: 16 min

No One Writes to the Colonel MCQs

1. How much coffee was left in the can?

A. None
B. One spoonful
C. Half cup
D. Whole can

B. One spoonful.
The colonel saw that only one small spoonful of ground coffee remained when he took the top off the can.

2. What month is described as “difficult” and “sinister”?

A. January
B. October
C. April
D. November

B. October.
The colonel felt the sinister month of October in his intestines and noted it was difficult to get through.

3. How long has the Colonel been actively waiting since the Civil War?

A. Twenty years
B. Fifty years
C. Sixty years
D. Fifteen years

C. Sixty years.
The colonel has done nothing but wait for nearly sixty years since the end of the last civil war.

4. What ailment did the Colonel’s wife suffer from the night before?

A. Headache
B. Asthma attack
C. High fever
D. Bad cough

B. Asthma attack.
The wife had suffered an asthma attack the night before, leaving her in a very drowsy state that morning.
5. What date was the Colonel’s son, Agustin, born?

A. October 27th
B. August 12th
C. April 7th
D. January 3rd

C. April 7th.
The wife noted that the dead man was born on April 7th, exactly one month after their son, Agustin.

6. What did the Colonel lie about to his wife that morning?

A. Rain stopping
B. Drinking coffee
C. Rooster status
D. Letter arrival

B. Drinking coffee.
When asked about his coffee, the colonel told his wife he had already had his, which was a lie.

7. What animal was tied to the leg of the bed?

A. Pet dog
B. Piglet
C. Fighting cock
D. Young calf

C. Fighting cock.
The colonel remembered the animal tied to the leg of the bed, which was explicitly a fighting cock.

8. What time did the clock show after the Colonel finished winding it?

A. Seven-ten
B. Six-forty
C. Seven-twenty
D. Eight-thirty

C. Seven-twenty.
After winding the pendulum clock in the living room’s carved case, the time was seven-twenty.

9. What object was on the little table in the living room?

A. Vase of flowers
B. Pile of books
C. Plaster cat
D. Ashtray

C. Plaster cat.
The living room featured a small table with a cover and a plaster cat sitting upon it.
10. What items did the Colonel provide for the rooster in the kitchen?

A. Water, bread
B. Water, corn
C. Seed, grit
D. Beans, water

B. Water, corn.
The colonel changed the water in the can and added a handful of corn next to the fighting cock.

11. Why did the Colonel ask the child not to play the harmonica?

A. Too noisy
B. Someone died
C. Roosters rested
D. Wife was ill

B. Someone died.
The colonel stopped the child from playing the popular song, explaining that there had been a death in town.

12. Why did the Colonel wear the old black suit?

A. Preferred black
B. White suit stained
C. White suit not pressed
D. Only formal suit

C. White suit not pressed.
Due to his wife’s asthma, the Colonel’s white suit was not pressed, forcing him to wear the old black one.

13. How old was Agustin when the family won the umbrella?

A. Five
B. Eight
C. Ten
D. Twelve

B. Eight.
The colonel, his wife, and their eight-year-old son, Agustin, watched the show.

14. What happened to the material of the raffle umbrella over time?

A. Ripped by the wind
B. Eaten by moths
C. Faded by the sun
D. Stolen by a child

B. Eaten by moths.
The umbrella’s bright satin material was ruined, having been eaten away by moths in storage.
15. What did the wife whisper about their situation after seeing the umbrella?

A. We are lucky
B. We’re rotting alive
C. God helps us
D. We need money

B. We’re rotting alive.
After the colonel commented on the umbrella, his wife whispered that they were “rotting alive”.

16. What did the Colonel use to hold up his trousers instead of a belt?

A. Metal chain
B. String knots
C. Fabric straps
D. Rope belt

C. Fabric straps.
Two straps of the same material held up his trousers, passed through two gilt buckles.

17. Why did the Colonel shave “by touch” that morning?

A. Blindness
B. Lacked a mirror
C. Poor light
D. Old habit

B. Lacked a mirror.
He shaved by touch because he had been without a mirror for a very long period.

18. What made this burial a “special event” for the town?

A. Famous person
B. First natural death
C. Terrible weather
D. Musician’s passing

B. First natural death.
The colonel told his wife that this was the first death from natural causes in many years.

19. What did the Colonel compare his bristly, steel-colored hair to?

A. A mop
B. A brush
C. A parrot
D. A helmet

C. A parrot.
He tried to comb his hair but failed, joking that he must look like a parrot afterwards.
20. What kept the Colonel from appearing “preserved in formalin”?

A. His strong build
B. His loud voice
C. Vitality in eyes
D. His dry skin

C. Vitality in the eyes.
Although dry and old, the vitality and liveliness in his eyes prevented him from looking preserved.

21. What kind of roof did the Colonel’s house have?

A. Tile roof
B. Palm-thatched roof
C. Metal roof
D. Shingle roof

B. Palm-thatched roof.
The colonel and his wife lived at the edge of town in a house with a thatched roof of palm.

22. What covered the town “as far as the eye could see” when the Colonel reached the main street?

A. Fresh mud
B. Flowers
C. People
D. Black cloth

B. Flowers.
As he walked down to the plaza, he shivered because the town was carpeted with flowers.

23. Where did the men, waiting for the procession, gather for shelter?

A. Pool hall
B. Church doorway
C. Store porch
D. Doctor’s office

B. Church doorway.
The men dressed in white stood under their umbrellas, talking in the low doorway of the church.

24. Who offered the Colonel an umbrella from the pool hall door?

A. The Mayor
B. Sabas
C. The proprietor
D. Father Ángel

C. The proprietor.
The proprietor of the pool hall shouted to the colonel, offering to lend him an umbrella.
25. What was the first thing the Colonel noticed when entering the dead man’s house?

A. Silence
B. Odor of flowers
C. Loud weeping
D. The coffin

B. Odor of flowers.
The colonel’s first perception upon entering the crowded house was the intense odor of many different flowers.

26. What did the dead man’s mother use to shoo flies away from the coffin?

A. A towel
B. Palm fan
C. Piece of cloth
D. Newspaper

B. Palm fan.
The dead man’s mother was using a fan made of plaited palm to shoo the flies away gently.

27. What musical instrument was the dead man holding in his hands?

A. Clarinet
B. Flute
C. Trumpet
D. Harmonica

C. Trumpet.
The colonel saw the corpse, which was stiff and dynamic, wrapped in white cloths with his trumpet in his hands.

28. What feeling did the Colonel experience when pushed against the corpse?

A. Relief
B. Panic
C. His joints ached
D. Great cold

C. His joints ached.
The shapeless crowd pushed him against the body, causing the colonel’s joints to ache from the sudden push.

29. Who seized the Colonel by the arm in the street after the church scene?

A. Doctor
B. Sabas
C. The Mayor
D. The tailor

B. Sabas.
As the colonel exited, Sabas, his dead son’s godfather, seized him by the arm.
30. What was Sabas’s political standing in the town?

A. Mayor
B. Only the party leader escaped
C. Exiled official
D. New recruit

B. Only party leader escaped.
Sabas was identified as the only leader of the Colonel’s party who had avoided political persecution.

31. Where did the Colonel see the Mayor during the confrontation?

A. Office door
B. Town hall steps
C. Barracks balcony
D. Plaza Center

C. Barracks balcony.
The colonel saw the Mayor on the balcony of the police barracks, shouting down at the procession.

32. What clothing was the Mayor wearing when he appeared on the balcony?

A. Uniform
B. Flannel underwear
C. Suit jacket
D. White tunic

B. Flannel underwear.
The Mayor was dressed only in his flannel underwear, and his cheek appeared noticeably swollen.

33. What regulation did Sabas forget was currently in effect?

A. Curfew
B. Martial law
C. No assemblies
D. No music

B. Martial law.
Sabas exclaimed that he had always forgotten the town was currently under martial law.

34. How did the women in the poor neighborhoods react to the new route?

A. Crying
B. Shouts of praise
C. Threw stones
D. Hid indoors

B. Shouts of praise.
As the cortege passed, the women came out and sent up shouts of praise and gratitude.
35. What did the Colonel compare the sensation in his gut during October to?

A. Fire
B. Animals
C. Empty hole
D. Water

B. Animals.
The colonel stated that in October, he felt “as if I had animals in my gut”.

36. What type of new building was Sabas’s house?

A. One story, wood
B. Two stories, iron gratings
C. Stone wall
D. Palm-thatched

B. Two stories, iron gratings.
Sabas’s house was new, two stories high, and featured wrought-iron window gratings.

37. What did the Colonel estimate the rooster’s market worth to be?

A. Thirty pesos
B. Fifty pesos
C. Nine hundred
D. Forty-two

B. Fifty pesos.
The colonel proudly told his wife that the rooster was considered the best and was worth about fifty pesos.

38. What caused Agustin’s death nine months before?

A. Gunshot, war
B. Shot distributing literature
C. Cholera
D. Natural causes

B. Shot distributing literature.
Agustin was shot down at the cock-fights nine months before for distributing clandestine political literature.

39. When did the Colonel expect the cockfights to take place?

A. December
B. January
C. March
D. November

B. January.
The colonel stated they knew there would be cockfights happening in January.
40. Why did the Colonel complain about his patent-leather shoes?

A. Too tight
B. Looked like an orphan’s
C. Were uncomfortable
D. Very old

B. Looked like an orphan’s.
He protested that the shoes looked like those of an orphan and made him feel like a fugitive.

41. What type of goods were displayed in the stalls along the harbor?

A. Foodstuffs
B. Books
C. Colored merchandise
D. Tools

C. Colored merchandise.
The street parallel to the harbor was a labyrinth of stores displaying colored merchandise.

42. What outstanding physical feature did the young doctor possess?

A. Strong build
B. Perfect dentition
C. Clear skin
D. Nice hair

B. Perfect dentition.
The young doctor had something unbelievable in the absolute perfection of his natural teeth.

43. What was the Colonel’s truthful confession to the doctor?

A. He was ill
B. No one writes him
C. He was waiting
D. He needed money

B. No one writes him.
After lying, he wasn’t expecting anything, the colonel admitted, “No one writes to me”.

44. What international event dominated the main headlines of the newspapers?

A. World War
B. Suez Canal report
C. New President
D. Oil discovery

B. Suez Canal report.
The front page, spanning four columns, featured a comprehensive report on international events related to the Suez Canal.
45. How many bells did the priest ring for the “unfit for everyone” movie rating?

A. Ten bells
B. Twelve bells
C. Fifteen bells
D. Eight bells

B. Twelve bells.
The colonel’s wife counted twelve bells, signifying the movie was morally “unfit for everyone”.

46. Who did the Colonel speak to while delirious with fever?

A. His wife
B. The Doctor
C. Englishman disguised as a tiger
D. Agustin

C. Englishman disguised as a tiger.
He answered his wife, claiming he was speaking to the Englishman disguised as a tiger at Colonel Buendía’s camp.

47. What rushed out of the privy pit when the lid was raised?

A. Rats
B. Triangular cloud of flies
C. Foul odor
D. Water

B. Triangular cloud of flies.
When the colonel lifted the lid of the privy, a large, triangular cloud of flies immediately rushed out.

48. What animal did the Colonel compare his wife to after seeing her patchwork outfit?

A. Rooster
B. Magpie
C. Sparrow
D. Heron

B. Magpie.
After seeing his wife covered in different colored scraps of fabric, the colonel said she looked like a magpie.

49. How much money did the Colonel need to buy a pound of corn for the rooster?

A. Fifty cents
B. Forty pesos
C. Forty-two cents
D. Twenty cents

C. Forty-two cents.
The colonel stated that the corn alone cost forty-two cents, frustrating his wife’s budget.
50. What object did the Colonel’s lawyer use as a desk in his office?

A. Old table
B. Keyless Pianola
C. Wooden crate
D. Filing cabinet

B. Keyless Pianola.
The lawyer’s office used a dusty, keyless Pianola as a dual-purpose desk for papers and ledgers.

Brief Overview

No One Writes to the Colonel is a novel by Gabriel García Márquez, published in 1961. The story portrays the challenging life of a poor, éderly, and unnamed Colonel and his ailing wife in a rainy, rundown Colombian coastal town.

The Colonel has been waiting for nearly sixty years for a military pension that never arrives. This enduring, futile hope defines his existence. Every Friday, the Colonel visits the post office, only to be told the same thing: “No one writes to the colonel.”

The couple lives in extreme poverty. Their only remaining hope and asset is a fighting rooster that belonged to their dead son, Agustin. The Colonel’s wife, who suffers from severe asthma, views the rooster as an expensive burden, as they have used their last money to buy corn for the bird.

The Colonel is pressured to sell the rooster to Sabas, a local leader and exploiter, but he refrains from doing so. He feels the rooster is a symbol of his son and a point of pride for the whole town.

When his wife desperately asks what they will eat while waiting for the rooster’s fight in January, the Colonel gives a pure and defiant final answer: “Shit.” This response signifies his choice of dignity and hope over surrender to despair and poverty.

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