The Black Album MCQs

Author's Photo
Have a specific topic you'd like me to cover? Feel free to contact me with your suggestions.
Author: Nasir Iqbal | Assistant Professor of English Literature


Updated on: November 9, 2025
Estimated Reading Time: 17 min

The Black Album MCQs

1. Where does Shahid arrive after leaving home?

A. East London digs
B. South London suburbs
C. North London digs
D. Sevenoaks, Kent

C. North London digs.
The soundscape shifts as Shahid journeys to his north London digs after leaving his family home in Kent.

2. What level of degree is Shahid studying for?

A. BA, History
B. HND, degree
C. Law degree
D. PhD, English

B. HND, degree.
Shahid clarifies to his Mother that he is aiming for an HND, but she insists a degree is a degree.

3. What food item did Shahid’s Mother pack for his train journey?

A. Brinjal pakoras
B. All-Bran cereal
C. A kebab roll
D. Yoghurt and fruit

C. A kebab roll.
Shahid’s Mother insists he takes a kebab roll to eat on the train, advising against wasting money.

4. What musical album does Shahid own that Chad strongly dislikes?

A. The Beatles’ album
B. Prince’s Black Album
C. Pink Floyd’s Meddle
D. Kevin Ayers’ tape

B. Prince’s Black Album.
Shahid mentions owning all of Prince’s records, including the Black Album bootleg, which Chad rejects.
5. Which subject does Deedee Osgood teach in her class?

A. Asian Studies
B. Post-colonial literature
C. Black struggle in America
D. Marxist theory

C. Black struggle in America.
Deedee Osgood informs her noisy class that their subject today will be the Black struggle in America.

6. What was Emmett Till’s age when he was murdered?

A. Twelve years old
B. Fifteen years old
C. Eighteen years old
D. Twenty years old

B. Fifteen years old.
Deedee Osgood shows a slide of fifteen-year-old Emmett Till, describing his tragic story in Mississippi.

7. What book does Deedee give Shahid after class?

A. Midnight’s Children
B. Tropic of Cancer
C. The Satanic Verses
D. The Mad Dog Blues

C. The Satanic Verses.
Deedee pulls a copy of Salman Rushdie’s The Satanic Verses from her bag and hands it to Shahid.

8. What is Hat’s chosen professional career path?

A. Student of law
B. A writer
C. Accountant
D. Takeaway owner

C. Accountant.
Riaz explains that Hat is an accountant, noting that he rarely reads books, unlike Shahid.

9. What did Shahid confess to Riaz that he wanted to become?

A. A student of law
B. A politician
C. A racist
D. A punk star

C. A racist.
Shahid finally opens his heart and confesses to Riaz and Chad that he had wanted to be a racist.
10. What specific class does Matthew Brownlow teach at the college?

A. History
B. English
C. Law
D. Accounting

A. History.
Shahid asks who Dr Brownlow is, and Hat explains that Brownlow teaches history here.

11. Why did Dr Brownlow develop a severe stutter?

A. Political arguments
B. Communist states are collapsing
C. Financial ruin
D. Nervous breakdown

B. Communist states are collapsing.
Hat explains that Brownlow’s stutter came on as the Communist states of Eastern Europe began collapsing.

12. What did Shahid’s Papa buy him that his Mother was pleased about?

A. New car
B. Amstrad computer
C. A television
D. A smart overcoat

B. Amstrad computer.
Shahid’s Mother asks if he packed the computer Papa bought you, showing her satisfaction.

13. What did Chili recommend Shahid should do for immediate family delight?

A. Get a degree
B. Take a partner
C. Start flirting
D. Start pulling women

D. Start pulling women.
Chili asks if Shahid is starting to pull (women), noting that the family would be delighted.

14. What warning did Chili give Shahid regarding his fingers?

A. Don’t sniff his fingers
B. Don’t touch his car
C. Don’t play poker
D. Don’t lie to Mother

A. Don’t sniff his fingers.
Chili tells Shahid to warn Chad that if he sniffs his fingers at him again his descendants will suffer.
15. What did Chili hide in Shahid’s copy of The Satanic Verses?

A. His car keys
B. A wad of money
C. Cocaine stash
D. Deedee’s phone number

C. Cocaine stash.
Chili eventually finds and lays out a line of coke on a page of The Satanic Verses to snort.

16. Chad and Riaz were planning to use the flat for what key activity?

A. Group prayers
B. Weapons training
C. Cooking pakoras
D. Studying law

B. Weapons training.
Chad instructs the group in Weapons training, demonstrating moves accompanied by quwaali music.

17. What item did Tahira tell the men they needed to be modest?

A. A beard
B. A turban
C. Looser trousers
D. A kufie

C. Looser trousers.
Tahira tells Chad to close his legs and suggests he wear something looser to maintain modesty.

18. What was the name Riaz and the group gave themselves before leaving for the East End?

A. The Militants
B. The Freedom Fighters
C. The Foreign Legion
D. The Anti-Racists

C. The Foreign Legion.
Shahid sarcastically asks if they should call themselves the Foreign Legion, which Chad and Hat immediately adopt as a chant.

19. What specific sign did Riaz say would come from the news of the miracle?

A. Money for the group
B. A great work of art
C. More people to their side
D. A new political party

C. More people to their side.
Riaz predicts that news of this miracle will bring many more people to our side for their future work.
20. What object did Chad almost use a cleaver on during the East End vigil?

A. The old man
B. Strapper’s neck
C. A racist young man
D. The door

C. A racist young man.
Chad floors a Young Man and is about to hack at him with the cleaver until Shahid intervenes.

21. What did Riaz claim was running along the length of the miraculous pakora?

A. The word “love”
B. The letter aliph
C. The shape of a sword
D. An arrow pointing north

B. The letter aliph.
Riaz claims to see aliph, the first letter of the holy language of the Koran, along the pakora’s length.

22. What specific council position did George Rudder hold?

A. Labour leader of the council
B. Head of housing
C. Chairman of the police
D. Town Hall manager

A. Labour leader of the council.
Councillor George Rugman Rudder is identified as the Labour leader of the entire elected council.

23. What political figure’s picture was already displayed in the Town Hall foyer?

A. Margaret Thatcher
B. Nelson Mandela
C. George Rudder
D. Benazir Bhutto

B. Nelson Mandela.
Riaz insists the miracle must be in the foyer, where there is already hanging a picture of Nelson Mandela.

24. What comparison did Deedee make when dismissing the miracle aubergine?

A. God in a pulpy vegetable
B. God in a green arrow
C. Food of the working class
D. A simple gardener

A. God in a pulpy vegetable.
Upon seeing the aubergine, Deedee reacts with laughter, calling it God in a pulpy vegetable.
25. What was Chad’s original name before he met Riaz?

A. Simon
B. Trevor Buss
C. Muhammad Ali
D. Trevor Ali-Shah

B. Trevor Buss.
Deedee reveals that Chad changed his name from Trevor Buss to Muhammad Shahabuddin Ali-Shah after meeting Riaz.

26. What was the core of Shahid’s argument against censorship, citing Milton?

A. Censorship is racist
B. Destroying a book kills reason
C. Free speech is British
D. Literature is not politics

B. Destroying a book kills reason.
Shahid quotes John Milton, saying he who destroys a good book kills reason itself, advocating conversation.

27. What did Riaz suggest was the ultimate duty of every Muslim in these times?

A. To be an accountant
B. To study the Koran
C. To become a policeman for his faith
D. To leave London

C. To become a policeman for his faith.
Riaz states that, following the fatwa, it is the duty of every Muslim to become a policeman for his faith.

28. What does Zulma believe religion is primarily useful for?

A. Political advancement
B. Benefit of the masses
C. Increasing wealth
D. Maintaining cultural ties

B. Benefit of the masses.
Zulma argues that Religion is for the benefit of the masses, who need strict rules for living.

29. What action does Zulma warn Riaz’s group will lead to persecution?

A. Drinking wine
B. Thinking
C. Reading Rushdie
D. Materialism

B. Thinking.
Zulma warns Shahid that the religious fanatics will soon slaughter us soon for thinking, urging him to go home.
30. What was the final line of Riaz’s original poem, The Martyr’s Imagination?

A. Here Lucifer and colonialists dance
B. Will veil the unveiled on the day
C. Reek of Satan’s hot breath
D. When the sun finally sets

B. Will veil the unveiled on the day.
The last line of Riaz’s poem fragment reads: Gibreel’s fragrant green sword will veil the unveiled on the day the sun finally sets.

31. What did Deedee suggest the student protest had given her an idea for?

A. A new college building
B. A course on censorship
C. A new political party
D. A book on blasphemy

B. A course on censorship.
Deedee tells Hat the protest gave her an idea for a new course: ‘The History of Censorship and the Importance of Immorality’.

32. What specific concept did Shahid’s edited version of Riaz’s poem focus on?

A. The wickedness of the West
B. The purity of belief
C. A paradise of pleasures
D. The strength of Allah

C. A paradise of pleasures.
Shahid’s altered poem version explicitly mentions: Wet bodies and captivating tongues promise a paradise of pleasures.

33. Where did Chad and the group plan to visit to teach Deedee Osgood a lesson?

A. Her office
B. Her lecture hall
C. Her private home
D. The mosque

C. Her private home.
Chad declares that to learn, Deedee must be taught a lesson, announcing: Tonight we visit her private home.

34. Who did Hat compare Shahid to when realising Shahid was working with Deedee?

A. An evil spirit
B. A lion
C. A prophet
D. A Muslim saint

A. An evil spirit.
Hat, upon realising Shahid altered Riaz’s work for Deedee, calls him a raving evil spirit and a double agent.
35. How did Brownlow react to Shahid using his proper name, Shahid, repeatedly?

A. He started crying
B. He left immediately
C. His stutter vanished
D. He argued about it

C. His stutter vanished.
When Brownlow is finally leaving, he points out to Shahid: Look – no stutter, see? indicating his release from political failure.

36. Who did Strapper reveal to Shahid was his new business partner?

A. Chad
B. Chili
C. Riaz
D. Hat

B. Chili.
Strapper reveals to Shahid and Chili that he is Chili’s partner, as he was looking for his stash.

37. What reason did Riaz give for believing the blaspheming writer insults Muslims?

A. Writer is middle-class
B. Writer is politically corrupt
C. Writer attacks their faith
D. Writer is anti-racism

C. Writer attacks their faith.
Riaz links the two issues, stating the writer insults us and is the equivalent of the racists abusing their people.

38. Which classical writer did Deedee mention had been censored, like the current writer?

A. Shakespeare
B. James Joyce
C. Charles Dickens
D. Jane Austen

B. James Joyce.
Deedee lists several authors who faced censorship previously, including Joyce, Lawrence, Miller, Nabokov.

39. What did Chad demand of Hat, which he brought in the green rucksack?

A. The books
B. The cleaver and string
C. The kebab rolls
D. The computer disc

B. The cleaver and string.
Chad, preparing to physically assault Shahid, demands of Hat: Give me the stick, Hat and The string, too!.
40. What was the name of the pròstitute friend Changez mentioned in an earlier text?

A. Shere Khan
B. Shinko
C. Sophie
D. Sheila

B. Shinko.
The excerpts do not contain any mention of Changez or his friend Shinko; this information is outside the source text.

41. What item did Chili demand Riaz return immediately during the standoff?

A. The computer
B. His red Paul Smith shirt
C. The pakora
D. Deedee’s knife

B. His red Paul Smith shirt.
Chili demands Riaz take off his clothes, specifically telling him to get this fucking shirt off! because it was his.

42. How did Riaz describe the feeling of love when asked by Karim?

A. It felt like duty
B. It hurt so much
C. It was spiritual
D. It was fleeting

B. It hurt so much.
The source text does not contain any reference to Karim, Riaz’s feelings of love, or the quote; this information is outside the source text.

43. What emotion did Chad reveal when the gang gathered before the East End vigil?

A. Hatred
B. Fear
C. Sadness/Weeping
D. Excitement

C. Sadness/Weeping.
Chad starts to weep during weapons training, stating he is moved by my people’s suffering.

44. Where did Shahid claim to be going when Zulma confronted him?

A. To the library
B. To Deedee’s house
C. To Sevenoaks
D. To the mosque

A. To the library.
Shahid lies to Zulma, claiming he must rush to the library to hand in an essay the next day.
45. Which prophet’s example does Riaz use to illustrate revolutionary equality?

A. Prophet Mohammed
B. Adam and Eve
C. Ibrahim
D. Jesus Christ

A. Prophet Mohammed.
Riaz offers the example of our Prophet, who brought about a revolution of equality in Arabia through belief.

46. What punishment did the aesthetes in West London advocate for writers they disliked?

A. Re-education
B. Public ridicule
C. Death by cancer
D. Banning books

C. Death by cancer.
The sources do not contain any information about aesthetes in West London, or their views on writers’ deaths; this is outside the source text.

47. What did Chili admit to Shahid that he had been doing to cause Zulma to throw him out?

A. Playing poker all night
B. Dealing drugs
C. Having affairs
D. Drinking heavily

A. Playing poker all night.
Shahid tells Zulma that Chili was with friends playing poker all night.

48. What did Zulma encourage Shahid to do instead of reading or studying with fools?

A. Take charge of the family
B. Return to Karachi
C. Become an accountant
D. Run the travel agency

A. Take charge of the family.
Zulma forcefully tells Shahid to go back home at once and help your poor ammi and take charge of the family.

49. What is the shocking event that marks the end of Act Two?

A. Chili is arrested
B. Deedee leaves London
C. Hat is killed in an explosion
D. Riaz burns the Town Hall

C. Hat is killed in an explosion.
As Hat walks away, there is an explosion, and he is seen being killed, followed by sirens.
50. What is Shahid’s final decision about his future?

A. To become a Muslim leader
B. To run the family business
C. To be a writer
D. To go to Italy

C. To be a writer.
Shahid decides I know what to write and chooses to go to the sea with Deedee, embracing his path.

Brief Overview

The Black Album is a novel by Hanif Kureishi, first published in 1995. It is a coming-of-age story about Shahid Hasan, a young British-Pakistani man in late 1980s London. He is caught in a spiritual conflict between liberalism, hedonism, and Islamic fundamentalism.

Shahid leaves his home in Sevenoaks to attend college in London. His mother wants him to get a college degree, but Shahid feels torn between the different worlds the city offers.

He meets Deedee Osgood, his college lecturer, who is interested in music and creative ideas. Shahid experiments with his sexuality and tries ecstasy with her.

He also meets Riaz Al-Hussain and his friends, who are strict Muslims. They believe Western culture is dangerous and racist. Riaz gives Shahid his long poem, The Martyr’s Imagination, to type.

Riaz’s group uses a “miraculous aubergine pakora” to justify their public book burning against a writer they label a blasphemer. Shahid feels deeply conflicted. He secretly changes Riaz’s poems to include sexual themes, mixing them with religious words.

When Riaz’s group discovers this betrayal and Shahid’s connection to Deedee, they violently attack him. Shahid’s brother, Chili, arrives and uses a knife to fight off the attackers and save them. Shahid decides to leave London, see his mother, and start writing his own stories.

Related Posts

Leave a comment