Pylon MCQs

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Author: Nasir Iqbal | Assistant Professor of English Literature


Updated on: November 16, 2025
Estimated Reading Time: 17 min

Pylon MCQs

1. What item captures Jiggs’ immediate attention at the store window?

A. Aeroplanes models
B. Grease-stained shoes
C. High leather boots
D. Purple-and-gold bunting

C. High leather boots.
Jiggs stood looking at the boots displayed prominently in the window, seeming to draw him in.

2. What type of facility is the store where Jiggs tries to buy the boots?

A. An iron sill
B. A lighted museum
C. An obscure shop
D. A cheap barn

B. A lighted museum.
The store is described as a museum of glass cases, brightly and suavely lit with an unearthly glow.

3. What is the asking price for the boots Jiggs wishes to purchase?

A. Ten dollars
B. Two and a quarter
C. Two and a dime
D. Twenty-two and a half

D. Twenty-two and a half.
The clerk informed Jiggs that the boots he admired in the store window cost twenty-two and a half dollars.

4. What reason does Jiggs initially give for not taking the boots immediately?

A. Airport closes early
B. Waiting for money
C. Manager is absent
D. Will return late

D. Will return late.
Jiggs stated he couldn’t get back from the airport until seven o’clock, which was after the store closed.
5. How much money does Jiggs manage to put down as a deposit on the boots?

A. Ten percent
B. Two dollars ten
C. Two and a quarter
D. One wadded dollar

B. Two dollars ten.
Jiggs initially suggested ten percent ($2.25) but ultimately convinced the clerk to accept two dollars and a dime ($2.10).

6. What is the primary purpose of the bus Jiggs takes from Grandlieu Street?

A. Airport passengers
B. Workers transportation
C. Mardi Gras guests
D. General transit

B. Workers transportation.
The bus driver noted that passenger buses did not start running until noon, indicating this early trip was for workmen.

7. What job does Jiggs claim to the bus driver to gain entry to the airport bus?

A. Airport mechanic
B. Race pilot
C. Roger’s mechanic
D. Bus conductor

C. Roger’s mechanic.
Jiggs told the driver he was Roger Shumann’s mechanic to ensure he could board the early bus.

8. Which aeroplane racing class does Jiggs mention their ship is entered in?

A. Two hundred cubic
B. Seven hundred fifty
C. Rocket Plane
D. Three-seventy-five cubic

D. Three-seventy-five cubic.
Jiggs informed the driver that their ship was competing in the three-seventy-five cubic inch race class.

9. Who is the Feinman Airport dedicated to, besides American aviators?

A. The Sewage Board
B. Colonel H. I. Feinman
C. The mayor of Valois
D. Vic Chance

B. Colonel H. I. Feinman.
The dedication explicitly names Colonel H. I. Feinman, Chairman of the Sewage Board, as a key figure.
10. What material was the Feinman Airport constructed out of, according to the sources?

A. Reclaimed swamp
B. Oyster-and-shrimp fossil
C. Concrete and steel
D. Waste land bottom

D. Waste land bottom.
The airport was created out of the wasteland at the bottom of Lake Rambaud at great cost.

11. What animal are the trim and immobile racers in the hangar compared to?

A. Tamed horses
B. Esoteric animals
C. Immobile wasps
D. Hungry deer

C. Immobile wasps.
The aeroplanes are described as waspwaisted, wasplight, still, trim, vicious, and immobile, resting like wasps.

12. What name does the small towheaded boy go by in the hangar?

A. Laverne
B. Dempsey
C. Roger
D. Jack

D. Jack.
Jiggs refers to the boy as Jack when approaching him and later to the others.

13. What color is the strong, pallid hair of the woman, Laverne?

A. Meal-colored
B. Pale brown
C. Sàvage yellow
D. Corn-colored

D. Corn-colored.
Her hair is described as meal-colored and also strong, pale, and low-colored.

14. Who is described as having thin, delicate, and even feminine features, especially a mustache?

A. Roger Shumann
B. The floorwalker
C. The taller man
D. Colonel Feinman

C. The taller man.
The taller man, the parachute jumper, had a narrow mustache and a mouth more delicate and feminine than Laverne’s.
15. How is the reporter, the tall scarecrow man, described when crouched down?

A. Eager, loose-jointed air
B. Skeleton frame
C. Halfgrown setter puppy
D. Long stick lath

C. Halfgrown setter puppy.
He is said to have the leashed, eager, loose-jointed air of a half-grown highbred setter puppy.

16. What material makes up the dome over the rotundra, contributing to the sound effects?

A. Steel and glass
B. Colored wood
C. Concrete walls
D. Plaster and chrome

A. Steel and glass.
The dome of azure glass is mentioned, contributing to the sound effect of the engine noise.

17. What event immediately follows the 375 cu. in. Scull Dash on the program?

A. Delayed Parachute Drop
B. Aerial Acrobatics
C. Rocket Plane race
D. Spot Parachute Jump

A. Delayed Parachute Drop.
The program lists the Delayed Parachute Drop at 5:00 P.M., immediately after the 4:30 P.M. Scull Dash.

18. What position does Shumann achieve in the 375 cu. in. Scull Speed Dash?

A. Second place
B. Third place
C. Fourth place
D. First place

A. Second place.
The announcer shouts that Shumann finishes second, beating Bullitt in a finely flown race.

19. What item does the reporter retrieve from the woman’s pocket at the hotel?

A. Trenchcoat
B. Crumpled pack
C. Folded paper
D. Keys

C. Folded paper.
The reporter drew the folded paper, a newspaper clipping, from the trenchcoat’s pocket.
20. What is Shumann wearing when he appears at the hotel lobby to meet the reporter?

A. Greasy dungarees
B. Trenchcoat and hat
C. Blue serge suit
D. Overalls

C. Blue serge suit.
Shumann wore a blue serge suit and a new gray homburg hat when he arrived at the hotel.

21. Where does Shumann tell the reporter they are staying for the night?

A. Feinman Airport
B. Amboise Street
C. Hotel Terrebonne
D. The apartment

B. Amboise Street.
Shumann specified Amboise Street, a place where they could sleep tonight and pay tomorrow.

22. How much does the madam charge Shumann and Laverne for the use of the Amboise Street room the previous night?

A. Two bucks
B. Thirty percent
C. Five-forty
D. Three bucks

D. Three bucks.
The madam charged them three dollars just to use the room to sleep in before the rush slacked up.

23. What phrase does Jiggs mishear the reporter say about the hotel’s rooms?

A. One thousand rented
B. Tiered identical cubicles
C. Tiered Q pickles
D. Rented sleepings

C. Tiered Q pickles.
Jiggs misheard the phrase “tiered identical cubicles” and repeated it as “Teared Q pickles”.

24. Where does the parachute jumper, Jack Holmes, say he is when asked?

A. Kansas
B. Iowa
C. Ohio
D. California

D. California.
The reporter tells the editor that the parachute jumper, Jack Holmes, was born in California.
25. What type of facility does Hagood compare the reporter’s flat to?

A. A barn cavern
B. A theatrical morgue
C. A clothes closet
D. A liquor bottle

B. A theatrical morgue.
Hagood considered the reporter’s apartment to be exhumed from a theatrical morgue, rented intact month-to-month.

26. What does the reporter tell Hagood his mother sends him?

A. Wedding presents
B. Postcards
C. Money
D. Blank checks

C. Money.
The reporter corrected Hagood, stating that he does not send his mother money; she sends him money.

27. What location does Hagood find Jiggs and the reporter drinking in early Sunday morning?

A. The Terrebonne lobby
B. The alley
C. The Amboise Street room
D. The hangar

C. The Amboise Street room.
Hagood finds them at the reporter’s room, located down an alley off the Vieux Carré, around two-thirty A.M..

28. What object does Jiggs intend to use on his new boots to ease removal?

A. A clean towel
B. A bootjack
C. A pair of pliers
D. A steel rod

B. A bootjack.
Jiggs takes a brand-new bootjack out of his paper-wrapped parcel from the canvas sack.

29. What item does Jiggs take from the reporter’s table to drink his “breakfast”?

A. Gallon jug
B. Glass jam
C. Dishpan water
D. Crumpled pack

B. Glass jam.
Jiggs takes the glass, like a chain store jam, to pour his morning drink of alcohol.
30. What object does the woman, Laverne, leave behind on the reporter’s bedroom floor?

A. Silk nightgown
B. Cotton shorts
C. Worn wool skirt
D. Brown walking shoes

B. Cotton shorts.
Shumann found her cotton shorts, which she wore for undergarments, on the bedroom floor.

31. What is the nature of the message posted regarding contestants at noon on Friday?

A. Payment of prizes
B. Airplane inspection
C. Race committee decision
D. Feinman reception

C. Race committee decision.
The notice requested all eligible winners to meet at noon, acquiescing to the race committee’s action if absent.

32. What amount does the committee demand as a cut from prize money for new programs?

A. Two and a half percent
B. Ten percent
C. Three percent
D. Fifteen percent

A. Two and a half percent.
The announcer explained that the committee required just a half percent cut from prize money for the new programs.

33. What is the name of the Federal inspector mentioned in the meetings?

A. Marchand
B. Ord
C. Sales
D. Bullitt

C. Sales.
Sales is identified as the Federal inspector responsible for certifying and licensing Matt Ord’s rebuilt plane.

34. What injury does Jack Holmes, the parachute jumper, sustain?

A. Broken arm
B. Cut on the jaw
C. Bruised ribs
D. Injured leg

D. Injured leg.
Jack Holmes landed his parachute jump badly, suffering an injured leg that required dressing and bandaging.
35. What does the reporter give Jiggs at the field just before leaving for the newspaper office?

A. Five dollars
B. Two dollars
C. Three quarters
D. A cigarette

C. Three quarters.
The reporter handed Jiggs the last of his change, which totaled three quarters of a dollar.

36. Where does Shumann intend to take Jiggs to sober up before the race Saturday morning?

A. Hotel
B. Police station
C. Office
D. Steak restaurant

B. Police station.
Shumann intended to take Jiggs to the police station for a quick sober-up before the day’s work.

37. What is Shumann doing when he takes the cab to the police station with the reporter?

A. Checking valves
B. Waiting for Jiggs
C. Walking away
D. Going to sleep

B. Waiting for Jiggs.
Shumann waited for Jiggs outside the Terrebonne hotel, where he believed Jiggs to be.

38. How much money did the reporter borrow from his editor, Hagood, at the office?

A. Ten dollars
B. Fifty dollars
C. Eleven-eighty
D. One hundred

B. Fifty dollars.
The reporter explicitly told Hagood, “I must have fifty dollars, chief,” which Hagood reluctantly provided.

39. What object does Shumann say hit him when Laverne was trying to abort her first parachute jump?

A. The stalk
B. The up-thrust
C. The belt
D. The wing

C. The belt.
Shumann recalls that the belt caught him across the legs as the parachute deployed during her frantic struggle.
40. Why did Laverne refuse to wear underwear for her first parachute jump attempt?

A. For drawing attention
B. She was afraid
C. To increase speed
D. No time to dress

B. She was afraid.
She was afraid that, due to fear, she might soil one of the few undergarments she owned.

41. What is the amount of the check Hagood writes to the reporter on Sunday?

A. Fifty dollars
B. Twenty-two dollars
C. One hundred
D. Five thousand

C. One hundred.
The reporter later tells Jiggs that Hagood’s check was for a total amount of one hundred dollars.

42. What animal bones do Jiggs and the reporter gather to polish the boots?

A. Cow and dog
B. Horse and mule
C. Pig and calf
D. Sheep and goat

B. Horse and mule.
The narrator notes they found bones from a horse and a mule to use as polishing tools.

43. What is Shumann attempting to do by flying wide and high on his last race lap?

A. Save fuel
B. Gain visibility
C. Turn the pylon
D. Maintain position

D. Maintain position.
Shumann was flying wide and high to compensate for the plane’s dangerous tendencies, but still holding his position.

44. What visible sign indicates the structural failure of Shumann’s aircraft during the race?

A. Propeller blur
B. Scattering burnt paper
C. Falling oil
D. Smoke cloud

B. Scattering burnt paper.
The reporter saw something like a light scattering of burnt paper or feathers floating above the pylon.
45. What two items does the parachute jumper separate the seventy-five dollars into?

A. Bills and coins
B. Two separate parts
C. Ticket fare and cash
D. Fees and tips

B. Two separate parts.
The money was separated into two distinct parts, one set with an address slip and the other for him.

46. What specific phrase does the parachute jumper make the reporter promise regarding Shumann’s body shipment?

A. Don’t send collect
B. Write me soon
C. Chance your money
D. Bury him here

A. Dont send collect.
The jumper stressed that if the reporter shipped the body, he must promise not to send it collect.

47. What does the reporter buy Jiggs as a final gesture before Jiggs leaves town?

A. Two new boots
B. Three pulp magazines
C. A suit
D. A ham sandwich

B. Three pulp magazines.
Jiggs bought the magazines Boy’s Life, Ladies’ Home Journal, and a war stories pulp magazine as presents.

48. What item does Jiggs take apart to hide the money for the boy?

A. Canvas sack
B. Cigar box
C. Toy aeroplane
D. Pair of boots

C. Toy aeroplane.
The reporter and Jiggs wedged the money into the tin body of the blue-and-yellow toy aeroplane.

49. What is Dr. Carl Shumann’s primary occupation in Myron, Ohio?

A. Lawyer
B. Banker
C. Doctor
D. Farmer

C. Doctor.
Roger’s father is referred to repeatedly as Doctor Carl Shumann, who delivers babies and performs surgery in his town.
50. What does Dr. Shumann do with the money found hidden in the boy’s toy plane?

A. Gives it to the wife
B. Returns it to the reporter
C. Burns it in the stove
D. Pays the taxi driver

C. Burns it in the stove.
Dr. Shumann opens the stove and throws the mass of money into the flames in a fit of gnomelike rage.

Brief Overview

Pylon is a novel by William Faulkner, first published in 1935. The novel addresses themes of survival, modernity, and the human condition. The entire story is set against the backdrop of a fictional air show in “New Valois,” which is a disguised version of New Orleans, Louisiana.

The novel is set at the Feinman Airport dedication meet in New Valois, Franciana. The story follows a small group of traveling stunt flyers who are desperate and live an inferior life. They urgently need prize money to survive and maintain their dangerous lifestyle.

The primary pilot is Roger Shumann, who races fast, dangerous, and sometimes obsolete aeroplanes. He travels with his wife, Laverne, the mechanic Jiggs, the Parachute Jumper, and their young son. They all share a wandering, unstable, and deeply unconventional life.

A reporter becomes completely obsessed with the fliers. He views them as almost non-human because they risk their lives so constantly and recklessly. Roger wins a race, earning some needed cash, but then agrees to fly a very hazardous, rebuilt ship for the main event.

Roger crashes the plane and dies in the lake during the event. The grieving reporter helps the surviving members financially. Laverne and the Jumper decide to leave town. They take the boy to Roger’s parents in Ohio. Laverne then leaves the child there, stating honestly that she cannot afford to give him a stable home.

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