Estimated Reading Time: 17 min
Paradise MCQs
1. What action takes place immediately at the beginning of the novel?
A. Men start searching rooms
B. Man shoots white girl
C. Women try to hide
D. They arrive at the Convent
2. How far away is the Convent from the closest proper town?
A. Ninety miles away
B. Five miles away
C. Seventeen miles away
D. Two hundred miles away
3. What piece of equipment did the men carry along with guns?
A. Rope, cross, handcuffs
B. Steel chains, Mace
C. Knives, whips, oil
D. Palm cross, Bibles
4. What was the Convent building originally before the nuns took it over?
A. A quiet farmhouse
B. An embezzler’s folly
C. An old mission post
D. A former bank building
5. What group of girls were first educated in the former dining room?
A. Troublesome Ruby girls
B. Black orphans only
C. Stilled Arapaho girls
D. Sickly town children
6. How did the men react emotionally after shooting the first woman?
A. They felt immense pity
B. They grew nervous
C. Hatred clarified like butter
D. They were terrified
7. What led to Haven becoming a ghost town in Oklahoma State?
A. White people moved in
B. Cotton collapsed, the railroad left
C. Freemen left suddenly
D. Flooding destroyed Haven
8. What did the returning veterans call themselves upon founding Ruby?
A. The Haven Survivors
B. The New Fathers
C. The Old Guards
D. The Righteous Men
9. What physical structure symbolized the original fathers’ triumph in Haven?
A. The bank building
B. The huge Oven
C. The schoolhouse
D. The church walls
10. Who was responsible for forging the original words onto the Oven’s lip?
A. Morgan the ironmonger
B. Rector Morgan
C. Zechariah Morgan
D. Elder Morgan
11. According to the researchers, what kind of behavior was unheard of in Ruby?
A. Gossiping loudly
B. Gambling often
C. Slack or slovenly women
D. Arguing with men
12. What specific freedom defined Ruby for the women?
A. Being able to vote
B. Attending college
C. Walking at night unafraid
D. Working outside the home
13. What specialized item did the Convent women sell to the townspeople?
A. Famous pecan pie
B. Fresh lamb meat
C. Hottest peppers in the world
D. Hand-woven baskets
14. What religious figure’s absence was marked by a clean outline on a wall?
A. The Virgin Mary
B. The figure of Jesus
C. Sisters of the Cross
D. Saint Catherine
15. Why did the Morgan twins originally enlist in the military in 1942?
A. They sought a breakaway
B. To gain much wealth
C. To protect their women
D. To follow their father
16. What group scorned the freedmen as they traveled, calling them too poor?
A. White landowners
B. Creek Nation members
C. Existing Negro towns
D. The town of Fairly
17. Where did the founders of Haven eventually establish their town?
A. West of Logan County
B. South of Tulsa
C. Near the Canadian River
D. In Arapaho territory
18. What was the central source of conflict at the Calvary church meeting?
A. K.D.’s assault on Arnette
B. Misner’s new theology
C. The Oven’s cryptic motto
D. Church membership rules
19. What was the name of the Morgan twin sister, mother of K.D.?
A. Dovey
B. Grace
C. Soane
D. Ruby
20. What names did Mavis call her deceased twin babies?
A. Sal and Frankie
B. Grace and Mercy
C. Merle and Pearl
D. Nina and Tina
21. What was the direct cause of death for Mavis Albright’s twins?
A. Suffocation in a hot car
B. Sudden crib death
C. Abuse from Frank
D. Food poisoning
22. What item did Mavis steal and drive away from home in?
A. Frank’s shaving razor
B. The mint green Cadillac
C. Her mother’s jewels
D. A pair of new boots
23. Where did Mavis decide to have the stolen Cadillac repainted?
A. Tulsa, Oklahoma
B. Demby, Maryland
C. Newark, New Jersey
D. Pasadena, California
24. What unusual items did the hitchhiker Dusty wear around her neck?
A. Crosses and beads
B. Rhinestone clips
C. Army dog tags
D. Gold chains
25. What happened to Mavis’s clear plastic raincoat?
A. Mavis discarded it
B. It was damaged badly
C. Bennie stole it
D. She sold it for gas
26. Why did Mavis become panicked when she saw Frank at the Esso station?
A. He recognized the car
B. He looked menacing
C. He talked to the attendant
D. He was driving fast
27. What physical characteristic of Consolata did Mavis first notice?
A. Her long nose
B. Her long braids
C. Her dark glasses
D. Her yellow dress
28. What was Consolata’s opinion on where truly scary things reside?
A. The scary things are inside
B. In the Convent cellar
C. Outside the town limits
D. In empty houses
29. Who was the first Ruby woman Mavis spoke to during her second attempt at escape?
A. Pat Best
B. Birdie Goodroe
C. Soane Morgan
D. Connie (Consolata)
30. Who did Soane Morgan describe as the person who “eats” sunglasses?
A. The Mother Superior
B. Mavis Albright
C. The Convent house
D. Connie (Consolata)
31. What did Mavis begin working on at Connie’s suggestion, finding beauty in her hands?
A. Preparing sauces
B. Weeding the garden
C. Shelling pecans
D. Crocheting lace
32. What discovery confirmed the “awful women” were not nuns, real or pretend?
A. Their foreign accents
B. Their shocking clothes
C. Their strange cult beliefs
D. Their refusal to pray
33. Where did Gigi wake up after spending her first night at the Convent?
A. In the parlor
B. On a leather sofa
C. In the Mother’s room
D. In the kitchen
34. What did Gigi see in the game room that evoked a disturbing reaction?
A. An etching of St. Catherine
B. The brass dicks box
C. A mirror image
D. K.D.’s sleeping body
35. What relationship was confirmed by Connie upon Mavis’ return to the Convent?
A. Mavis and Connie were sisters
B. The Mother was Mavis’ mother
C. The Mother had died
D. Gigi and K.D. were married
36. What caused K.D.’s intense attraction to Gigi, despite his shame?
A. Her charming manners
B. Her screaming tits
C. Her financial status
D. Her clever humor
37. What did the Reverend Pulliam focus on during his sermon before the wedding?
A. Love as divine, not natural
B. Forgiveness for sins
C. The importance of family
D. Prosperity in marriage
38. What physical response signaled that Sweetie Fleetwood’s children were unique?
A. Constant coughing
B. Total, unnerving silence
C. Excessive crying
D. They slept too much
39. What theory did Pat Best develop regarding Ruby’s exclusive success?
A. Purity of eight-rock blood
B. Extreme faith in God
C. Total isolation from whites
D. Hard work and farming
40. What action did Consolata perform that she considered “evil craft”?
A. Selling illegal pepper sauce
B. Getting drunk often
C. Stepping inside Scout’s body
D. Killing the Mother Magna
41. What item of clothing did Seneca wrap around Pallas when she was shaking?
A. A pink nightgown
B. A soft wool blanket
C. A cashmere serape
D. A fluffy white towel
42. What visual feature did the young people paint onto their body templates in the cellar?
A. Their future careers
B. Their favorite pets
C. Scars, breasts, pudenda
D. Pictures of their men
43. What specific image did Gigi paint on her body template in the cellar?
A. Her dead twin sister
B. A heart locket necklace
C. A shattered wine bottle
D. A small infant
44. Who was the author of the graffiti, “We Are the Furrow of His Brow”?
A. Reverend Misner
B. The young people
C. Deacon Morgan
D. Pat Best
45. Why did Sweetie Fleetwood refuse to bury her child on Morgan’s property?
A. She followed Jeff’s lead
B. She blamed Steward Morgan
C. Her family was too poor
D. The land was unsuitable
46. Who was the only member of the assault party with whom Deacon Morgan had a non-antagonistic relationship?
A. His brother Steward
B. Reverend Misner
C. Sargeant Person
D. Harper Jury
47. How did Billie Delia insult the wedding party after the Convent women were expelled?
A. She refused to speak
B. She slapped K.D.
C. She threw her bouquet away
D. She left quickly
48. What was the central point of the original Oven motto dispute, according to Reverend Pulliam?
A. The word “Furrow.”
B. The command “Beware.”
C. The word “Brow.”
D. The word “His.”
49. What physical difference between Consolata’s lover and his twin led her to realize he was a stranger?
A. Hair color was different
B. The shoes he was wearing
C. The twin was much taller
D. He had fewer scars
50. Who was the woman shot first, confirming the men’s intent to kill?
A. The white girl
B. Mavis Albright
C. Consolata
D. Billie Delia
Brief Overview
Paradise is a novel by Toni Morrison, published in 1998. The novel functions as a communal tragedy, deeply examining themes of community, religion, prejudice, and gender exclusion.
The novel opens with an armed attack on a house of women known as the Convent, located outside the town of Ruby, Oklahoma. Ruby was founded by Freedmen—Black people who aimed to build an exclusive, safe, and orderly community.
Nine armed men from Ruby, who call themselves the New Fathers, believe the women living in the mansion are evil. They think the women are the source of all the town’s recent problems and disasters.
At dawn one July day, the men arrive at the cold mansion intending to kill the women. They shoot the first woman, who is white. The men search the grand house for the women they judge to be living immoral lives. The women inside the Convent, including Mavis, Gigi, and Seneca, seek comfort and fight back.
During the chaotic fight, one of the leading men, Steward Morgan, shoots Consolata (Connie), an older woman living there. The men injure others. When the townspeople arrive later, they find that both the women and the bodies are gone, adding to the mystery.
The Convent, which was once a school for girls, had become a safe place where lost women came to find themselves and stay. The men who wanted to “save” Ruby ultimately caused chaos and violence, betraying the peace their founders sought.
