The Mansion MCQs

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Author: Nasir Iqbal | Assistant Professor of English Literature


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

The Mansion MCQs

1. Who killed Jack Houston?

A. Flem Snopes
B. Will Varner
C. Mink Snopes
D. Jody Varner

C. Mink Snopes.
Mink killed Houston because Houston forced him to act before Flem returned to help.

2. Why did Mink believe Flem Snopes would extricate him from the consequences of the murder?

A. Flem’s money
B. Flem’s power
C. Blood kinship
D. Ancient laws

C. Blood kinship.
Mink trusted Flem, due to the ancient, immutable laws of simple blood kinship, to save him.

3. Why did Flem Snopes have to stay away from Frenchman’s Bend for a year after his marriage?

A. Texas honeymoon
B. Varner’s store
C. Business dealings
D. Flem’s luck

A. Texas honeymoon.
Flem and his new wife needed time away so their child would appear legitimately conceived.

4. Who did Flem Snopes marry?

A. Linda Snopes
B. Eula Varner
C. Miz Tull
D. Melisandre Backus

B. Eula Varner.
Flem married Eula Varner, old Will Varner’s daughter, to save her from scandal.
5. What benefit did Flem gain immediately by marrying Eula Varner?

A. Store ownership
B. Free deed
C. New car
D. Big house

B. Free deed.
By marrying Eula, Flem secured the right to the whole Old Frenchman place.

6. Who represented the “simple fundamental justice” Mink trusted for his retribution?

A. Old Moster
B. Themselves
C. The Judge
D. The Jury

B. Themselves.
Mink believed in Them/They, a force ensuring he would eventually get his just licks back.

7. What act of outrage did Mink feel Jack Houston committed even as he died?

A. Injured Mink
B. Stole his cow
C. Escaped retribution
D. Gun threat

C. Escaped retribution.
By dying, Houston escaped forever all retribution for the injuries he had inflicted upon Mink.

8. What triggered the final conflict between Mink Snopes and Jack Houston?

A. Horse killing
B. Pound fee
C. Cow ownership
D. Gun threat

C. Cow ownership.
The conflict escalated over Mink’s cow being detained in Houston’s feed lot for wintering.

9. What animal was responsible for killing Jack Houston’s young wife?

A. Blood stallion
B. Bluetick hound
C. Beef cattle
D. Neighbor’s mule

A. Blood stallion.
Houston’s young wife was killed when she went into the stallion’s stall looking for a hen nest.
10. How long had Houston been sulking and grieving over his wife’s death?

A. Three years
B. Four years
C. One month
D. Five years

B. Four years.
Houston had been sulking alone on his big place since the stallion killed his wife four years prior.

11. What was the estimated value of Mink Snopes’s cow after it had wintered in Houston’s lot?

A. Eight dollars
B. Sixteen dollars
C. Thirty-five dollars
D. Fifty dollars

C. Thirty-five dollars.
The traders eventually valued the cow between thirty-five and thirty-seven and a half dollars.

12. How many days of work did Will Varner calculate Mink owed Houston for the cow?

A. Ten days
B. Eighteen days
C. Thirty-seven days
D. Fifty days

C. Thirty-seven days.
Mink owed eighteen dollars and seventy-five cents at fifty cents a day, totaling thirty-seven days.

13. What did Mink use as his main strategy to overcome the injustice he faced?

A. Constant fighting
B. Simple patience
C. Ignoring them
D. Legal action

B. Simple patience.
Mink believed he could beat them by calmly refusing to accept injustice and by waiting longer than anyone.

14. What final injury did Houston inflict upon Mink that led directly to the murder?

A. Stole the cow
B. Pistol threat
C. Broke the fence
D. Pound fee

D. Pound fee.
The insistence on the extra one-dollar pound fee was the definitive reason Mink killed Houston.
15. What mode of travel did Mink use to retrieve his cow from Houston’s lot?

A. Horseback ride
B. Walked quietly
C. At a trot
D. Mule-drawn buggy

C. At a trot.
Mink drove the cow trotting before him, lashing across the hocks with the plowline, showing urgency.

16. What item did Mink attempt to buy from Ike McCaslin’s hardware store?

A. Two buckshot shells
B. A new pistol
C. A plowline
D. Coffee

A. Two buckshot shells.
Mink needed buckshot shells for his ancient ten-gauge gun to properly shoot Jack Houston.

17. What reason did McCaslin give for refusing to sell Mink the shells?

A. No bear seen
B. No money
C. No trust
D. Too dangerous

A. No bear seen.
McCaslin didn’t believe the story about the bear and knew Mink had no need for buckshot locally.

18. What establishment did Mink visit in Jefferson while waiting for the mail carrier?

A. Drugstore
B. Airdome
C. Restaurant
D. Depot

D. Depot.
Mink spent the night at the depot, waiting for the mail carrier to leave for Varner’s store.

19. When did Mink realize he should have waited for Flem to return from Texas?

A. In a jail cell
B. Before the trial
C. At the depot
D. At the feedlot

C. At the depot.
While waiting at the depot, watching the train, Mink realized it was already too late to wait for Flem.
20. What was Mink Snopes doing at the moment the fatal shot was fired at Houston?

A. Digging post holes
B. Waiting quietly
C. Taking aim
D. Lying in wait

C. Taking aim.
Mink cocked the hammer and laid the sight on Houston’s chest, taking up the slack in the trigger.

21. How did Mink Snopes attempt to contact Flem during his imprisonment before the trial?

A. Sent a telegram
B. Promised money
C. Wrote a letter
D. Spoke to Judge

B. Promised money.
From his cell window, Mink hollered to passersby, promising money if they contacted Flem.

22. What sentence did the Judge pronounce on Mink Snopes?

A. Twenty years
B. Death
C. Life
D. Five years

C. Life.
The jury said “Guilty,” and the Judge decreed a life sentence for the murder of Jack Houston.

23. According to the lawyer, how long until Mink was eligible for parole or pardon?

A. Five years
B. Ten years
C. Twenty years
D. Life

C. Twenty years.
The lawyer explained that Mink would be eligible to apply for parole in twenty or twenty-five years.

24. Where did the young lawyer initially suggest Mink would be sent instead of Parchman?

A. Jackson
B. Memphis
C. Jefferson
D. Atlanta

A. Jackson.
The lawyer tried to babble about Jackson, where Mink would have a nice room, not Parchman.
25. What four rules did the lawyer advise Mink to follow to get out in time?

A. Work hard
B. Stay safe
C. Be quiet
D. Don’t escape

D. Don’t escape.
The main rule the lawyer emphasized for parole eligibility was not to try to break out or escape.

26. How did Mink track the passage of time during his incarceration at Parchman?

A. Counting days
B. Treading cotton
C. Watching seasons
D. Reading books

B. Treading cotton.
Mink simply trod the years behind him into oblivion while working in the cotton middles.

27. Who wrote the letter that the Warden showed Mink after three years?

A. Yettie
B. Miz Tull
C. Flem Snopes
D. His daughters

B. Miz Tull.
Mink stated that his wife, Yettie, couldn’t read or write, so Miz Tull must have written it.

28. What conclusion did Mink come to after three years at Parchman about Flem Snopes?

A. Flem betrayed him
B. Flem forgot him
C. Flem must die
D. Flem will save him

C. Flem must die.
Mink realized he had to go back home and kill Flem after his release.

29. What was Montgomery Ward Snopes’s lucrative business in Jefferson?

A. Selling whiskey
B. French postcards
C. Hardware store
D. Cattle trading

B. French postcards.
Montgomery Ward ran a profitable studio business dealing in “nekkid pictures” or French postcards.
30. Who was the dedicated lawyer involved in civic improvement who busted into Montgomery Ward’s studio?

A. Hub Hampton
B. Lawyer Stevens
C. Will Varner
D. Manfred de Spain

B. Lawyer Stevens.
Lawyer Stevens (Gavin Stevens) was a Harvard-educated lawyer dedicated to civic and moral advancement.

31. Who was the Baptist deacon and Sheriff who accompanied the lawyer to the studio?

A. Grover Winbush
B. Hub Hampton
C. Lump Snopes
D. Solon Quick

B. Hub Hampton.
Hub Hampton, a meat-eating Hard-Shell Baptist deacon, was the county Sheriff who arrived with Lawyer Stevens.

32. What evidence did Flem Snopes plant to ensure Montgomery Ward was sent to Parchman?

A. Nude photographs
B. Moonshine whiskey
C. Forged notes
D. Stolen goods

B. Moonshine whiskey.
Flem planted a jug of moonshine whiskey, leading to Montgomery Ward’s two-year sentence at Parchman.

33. What was the relationship between Mink Snopes and Montgomery Ward Snopes?

A. Brothers
B. Friends
C. Uncle/cousin
D. Distant kin

C. Uncle/cousin.
Montgomery Ward refers to Mink as his uncle or cousin, confirming their blood connection.

34. How did Flem Snopes finally ensure Montgomery Ward would not reveal his plans?

A. Threatened him
B. Offered bond
C. Gave him cash
D. Provided a photo

D. Provided a photo.
Flem used a picture (a naked photo) sent through the mail to blackmail Montgomery Ward into compliance.
35. How did Mink Snopes attempt to escape Parchman in 1923?

A. Fled running
B. Dug a tunnel
C. Woman’s clothes
D. Bribed guard

C. Women’s clothes.
Montgomery Ward tricked Mink into trying to escape wearing a woman’s dress and sunbonnet.

36. What consequence did Mink face for the attempted escape?

A. Life sentence
B. Death penalty
C. Twenty more years
D. Parole denial

C. Twenty more years.
As the lawyer predicted, twenty-five more years were added to Mink’s life sentence for the escape attempt.

37. What realization did Mink have about his cousin Flem concerning the attempted escape?

A. Flem paid for it
B. Flem was betrayed
C. Flem tricked him
D. Flem saved him

C. Flem tricked him.
Mink realized that Flem had used Montgomery Ward to trick him into the failed escape deliberately.

38. What was the occupation of Linda Kohl’s deceased husband, Barton Kohl?

A. Soldier
B. Sculptor
C. Newspaperman
D. Politician

B. Sculptor.
Barton Kohl was a sculptor, an advanced and liberal one, before he was killed in the Spanish War.

39. What impairment did Linda Snopes Kohl suffer as a result of the Spanish Civil War?

A. Lost arm
B. Stone deaf
C. Lost leg
D. Blindness

B. Stone deaf.
A shell or cannonball explosion during the Spanish War left Linda Kohl stone deaf.
40. Who was Linda Snopes’s biological father?

A. Flem Snopes
B. Manfred de Spain
C. Hoake McCarron
D. Will Varner

C. Hoake McCarron.
Hoake McCarron was the “wild buck” who impregnated Eula Varner before she married Flem Snopes.

41. Who served as Linda’s guardian and mentor throughout her youth, despite not being her father?

A. Flem Snopes
B. Ratliff
C. Will Varner
D. Gavin Stevens

D. Gavin Stevens.
Gavin Stevens (Lawyer) lent her books and guided her development from age thirteen to marrying Kohl.

42. What did Linda Snopes do to ensure Flem would let her attend the University instead of the Seminary?

A. Threatened Flem
B. Asked Varner
C. Made a will
D. Ran away

C. Made a will.
Linda drew up a will leaving her eventual estate share to Flem, securing his permission to leave Jefferson.

43. What was the occupation of the man, Kohl, whom Linda married?

A. Poet
B. Sculptor
C. Communist
D. Newspaperman

B. Sculptor.
Kohl was a sculptor living in Greenwich Village, associated with the Communist Party.

44. What political ideology did Linda Snopes Kohl embrace and actively follow?

A. Socialism
B. Conservatism
C. Liberalism
D. Communism

D. Communism.
Linda and her husband fought on the communist side in the Spanish War, and she held a party card.
45. What was the name of the white-columned mansion in which Flem Snopes resided?

A. Varner Place
B. Compson Place
C. De Spain House
D. Eula Acres

C. De Spain House.
Flem lived in the renovated ancestral home of Manfred de Spain, the bank’s previous president.

46. Who was the source of the persistent moral influence that helped Eula Varner maintain her “establishment” for Linda?

A. Flem Snopes
B. Will Varner
C. Manfred de Spain
D. Lawyer Stevens

C. Manfred de Spain.
Manfred de Spain, the powerful banker, maintained a relationship with Eula until her suicide.

47. Who did Gavin Stevens marry after Eula’s death and Linda’s departure?

A. Linda Kohl
B. Melisandre Backus
C. Eula Varner
D. Miz Tull

B. Melisandre Backus.
Gavin Stevens married Melisandre Backus, who gave him a Cadillac as a wedding present.

48. Who was the ex-Marine corporal who married Essie Meadowfill?

A. Res Snopes
B. Luther Biglin
C. McKinley Smith
D. Jack Houston

C. McKinley Smith.
McKinley Smith married Essie Meadowfill and gained part of the land that Res Snopes wanted.

49. What did Linda Snopes Kohl do to ensure Mink Snopes was released from Parchman?

A. Sent a letter
B. Paid Flem
C. Offered money
D. Filed a petition

D. Filed a petition.
Linda organized a petition, through Gavin Stevens, to secure a pardon and early release for Mink.
50. What did Linda do immediately after Flem Snopes’s murder?

A. Left town
B. Kissed Gavin
C. Signed papers
D. Called police

B. Kissed Gavin.
Linda kissed Gavin and then prepared to leave, securing the deed and money he provided.

Brief Overview

The Mansion, published in 1959, is the final novel in the Snopes trilogy by William Faulkner. The story centers on the final downfall and murder of Flem Snopes. It shows that Flem’s lifetime of cheating others eventually leads to a violent end.

The novel begins with Mink Snopes. Mink killed Jack Houston over a long fight concerning a cow. Houston made Mink work hard and added an extra dollar fee, which caused Mink to shoot him. A jury found Mink guilty and sentenced him to life in prison at Parchman.

Mink later discovered his rich cousin, Flem Snopes, had ensured he stayed longer, adding 20 more years to his sentence. Mink had to wait 38 years total. He planned to kill Flem the moment he was released from prison.

Flem was now a powerful banker living in a large Jefferson mansion. Flem’s daughter, Linda, was deaf due to a war injury from Spain. Linda asked her lawyer, Gavin Stevens, to get Mink released early. She wanted to save Mink from further waiting.

Stevens tried to give Mink money to leave Mississippi so he would not kill Flem. Mink refused the money when he left prison. Mink traveled back toward Flem’s town and got a pistol. He went to Flem’s mansion and shot Flem while he was sitting in a chair.

Linda was in the house and helped Mink get away. She immediately left town afterward. Stevens and Ratliff found Mink hiding in an old cellar. Stevens gave Mink money, and Mink expressed his desire to be anonymous and at rest in the ground.

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