The Native MCQs

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Author: Nasir Iqbal | Assistant Professor of English Literature


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

The Native MCQs

1. What is the narrator’s first name?

A. Gregório
B. Antônio
C. Francisco
D. Joaquim

A. Gregório.
The narrator’s full name is Gregório Peixoto da Silva Xavier, the family’s second son and protagonist.

2. Who was given to Gregório as his personal slave?

A. Tana, the cook
B. Joaquim the rider
C. Aurelia, the maid
D. Jari, the boy

D. Jari, the boy.
Jari was chosen from fifteen slaves given to Gregório’s father as part of the marriage settlement.

3. What was Gregório’s first sexual partner’s name?

A. Augustina Rodrigues
B. Tana, the cook
C. Aureli,a the maid
D. Mrs Barballo

C. Aurelia, the maid.
Aurelia was the young Negress maid chosen for her looks to attend upon his new mother.

4. Who was Gregório’s new stepmother?

A. Tana, the cook
B. Augustina Rodrigues
C. Mrs Barballo
D. Aurelia, the maid

B. Augustina Rodrigues.
The father’s marriage celebration was for his new bride, Augustina Rodrigues, a young virgin.
5. What animal did Francisco suggest Gregório practice on next?

A. Dog or goat
B. Hen first
C. Cow practice
D. Snake or cat

C. Cow practice.
Francisco smirked and suggested practising his technique with a cow because it would be easier.

6. What happened when Gregório tried to experiment with the cow?

A. It ran away
B. It was milked
C. It defecated
D. It kicked him

C. It defecated.
The cow decided its digestive functioning was complete, covering Gregório in warm, thick green liquid.

7. What was the shape of Gregório’s birthday cake?

A. A huge cannon
B. Map of Brazil
C. A sugar mill
D. His father’s face

B. Map of Brazil.
The cake was thoughtfully shaped like the map of Brazil, representing what little territory was acknowledged.

8. What did Gregório’s father want Gregório to improve in the house?

A. Family honour
B. The stone floor
C. Tana’s cooking
D. The stable

B. The stone floor.
Gregório dreamed of convincing his father to resurface his bedroom floor with expensive Italian marble.

9. What did Gregório claim he wanted to share with his family?

A. The gold money
B. The new slaves
C. Brazil’s future
D. The beef

C. Brazil’s future.
Gregório delivered a patriotic speech about sharing Brazil and committing to perpetual greatness.
10. What colour were Augustina’s eyes?

A. Dark brown
B. Blue eyes
C. Green eyes
D. Black eyes

B. Blue eyes.
Augustina, Gregório’s new mother, had a white, smooth face and striking blue eyes.

11. What quality did Gregório’s father admire in him?

A. Vain as a peacock
B. Lacking manners
C. Cowardly nature
D. Too much prayer

A. Vain as a peacock.
His father told Augustina that Gregório was as vain as a peacock, but he loved him deeply.

12. What did Gregório use to strike Francisco?

A. Bare hands
B. Tapir hide whip
C. Rifle butt
D. Heavy rock

B. Tapir hide whip.
Gregório instructed Francisco on the proper whipping technique using a whip of tapir hide.

13. What physical item did Gregório throw in the classroom?

A. A pencil
B. The geometry book
C. A chalk eraser
D. His fist

B. The geometry book.
Arnold threw the old geometry book in anger because its age symbolised the destruction of his dreams.

14. What deadly practice did Gregório and Antônio engage in?

A. Shooting kittens
B. Cock fighting
C. Drinking poison
D. Burning books

A. Shooting kittens.
They practised shooting at kittens and puppies to prepare their aim for the Indian expedition.
15. What interrupted the final competition shot?

A. Rowdy appeared
B. A large eagle
C. The mother cat
D. A surprise visit

B. A large eagle.
Just as the kitten was dropped for the tie-breaking final fall, an eagle swooped down and took it.

16. What did Gregório confess about his wounds after the battle?

A. He was scared
B. He was brave
C. They were exaggerated
D. He was unharmed

D. He was unharmed.
Gregório confessed to Saint Anthony that the “small matter” of the wound on his chest was due to vanity.

17. What item was lost when the bow of the canoe was hit?

A. The red lantern
B. The canoe itself
C. A soldier’s rifle
D. The drinking water

A. The red lantern.
When the Brazilian gun hit the bow, the man holding the red lantern saw it fly into the water.

18. What did Gregório compare himself to when entering the ballroom?

A. A mere duck
B. A handsome horse
C. A gliding swan
D. An elegant dancer

C. A gliding swan.
Gregório felt he looked conspicuously elegant like a swan gliding on a river full of mere ducks.

19. What did Mr. Rodrigues say Gregório must promise?

A. To marry Alicia
B. To stay longer
C. To visit his house
D. To be less vain

C. To visit his house.
Mr. Rodrigues specifically asked Gregório to promise him that he would visit his house in Pernambuco.
20. What did Gregório’s mother want to return to England for?

A. Father’s debt
B. Came into inheritance
C. Harsh Brazilian sun
D. War had begun

B. Came into inheritance.
Gregório’s mother inherited a thriving estate in Hampshire, providing a magical solution to their dire problem.

21. What did Veríssimo say was the stuff soldiers were made of?

A. Iron will
B. Iron back
C. Strong emotion
D. Hard muscles

B. Iron back.
Veríssimo insisted that soldiers’ backs should be so rigidly straight that they appeared to be made of iron.

22. How many men were lost in the Indian attack at the river?

A. Seven total
B. Four soldiers
C. Eleven total
D. All fifteen

B. Four soldiers.
Veríssimo discovered four Negro soldiers dead from arrows, which led him to demand an immediate hunt.

23. Who was found cutting and roasting human meat?

A. Antônio
B. Cristóval
C. Veríssimo
D. Jari

B. Cristóval.
Gregório saw Cristóval cooking and eating a forearm torn from his dead companion near the fire.

24. What did Veríssimo ask the survivors to confess for him?

A. His biggest sin
B. His devotion
C. His failure
D. His delusions

A. His biggest sin.
Veríssimo confessed his sin to the boys, asking them to repeat his confession to the holy church.
25. What was the name of the white priest who saved Gregório?

A. Father Boscoli
B. Father Soares
C. Father Prado
D. Father Duncan

C. Father Prado.
A Jesuit missionary, Father Prado, found Gregório beside the river and nursed him back to health.

26. What item did Father Prado say God had the credit for?

A. His health
B. His strength
C. His potion
D. His mission

C. His potion.
Prado claimed that the discovery of his bitter medicine, which saved Gregório, would be the Church’s glory.

27. What did Father Prado refuse to do for the Indian women?

A. Convert them
B. Clothe them
C. Heal them
D. Feed them

B. Clothe them.
Prado felt it would be a “disastrous mistake” to impose his order by clothing the naked Indian women.

28. What was the name of the mission village Gregório visited?

A. Coimbra
B. Salvador
C. Glória
D. Olinda

C. Glória.
Father Prado took Gregório to the established mission village down the river called Glória.

29. What was Father Boscoli’s new name for his Indian students?

A. Young Christians
B. Little angels
C. New Brazilians
D. Holy scholars

B. Little angels.
Father Boscoli called the Indian choir boys “my little angels” due to their beautiful, sweet voices.
30. What was the name of the river Gregório sailed down?

A. Rio das Velhas
B. Rio Doce
C. São Francisco
D. Tagus River

C. São Francisco.
The explorers revealed that the river Gregório sailed down from the mission was the São Francisco.

31. What did Gregório realise about his new fiancée, Alicia?

A. She was poor
B. She was deaf
C. She was a writer
D. She was pregnant

B. She was deaf.
Mr. Rodrigues revealed that Alicia was dèaf and dùmb, explaining why she was kept hidden.

32. Why did Mr. Rodrigues forbid Gregório to speak to Alicia?

A. To protect her
B. Because she was deaf
C. As a test
D. Because she was ill

B. Because she was deaf.
Mr. Rodrigues forbade talking to Alicia because she was deaf and needed gestures to communicate.

33. What kind of books did Arnold’s sister, Mary, secretly want to write?

A. History textbooks
B. Romance novels
C. Children’s stories
D. Poetry

B. Romance novels.
Mr. P revealed that Mary was shy about her ambition to write and wanted to write romance novels.

34. What did Gregório’s father want him to do immediately upon arrival?

A. Take Frolick out
B. Apologise to mother
C. See his brother
D. Drink some tea

A. Take Frolick out.
His father, pretending Gregório had never left, asked if he was taking Frolick (the spaniel) out for his walk.
35. What new job did Gregório assign Francisco at home?

A. Cutting cane
B. Whipping Jari
C. Attending chapel
D. Guarding slaves

C. Attending chapel.
As punishment for the cow shed game, the boys had to attend mass and spend three hours praying.

36. What was Augustina’s revenge on Aurelia?

A. Cutting her hair
B. Burning her hut
C. Beating her
D. Sending her away

A. Cutting her hair.
Augustina offered Aurelia a beauty treatment, then cut off her beautiful long hair, humiliating her.

37. Who was the father of Aurelia’s son, João Veríssimo?

A. Gregório
B. Antônio
C. His father
D. Father Soares

C. His father.
Aurelia swore the father slept with her three times the night before marrying Augustina to practice.

38. What was the purpose of the slaves’ game in the cowshed?

A. Exercise and fun
B. Create more slaves
C. Testing strength
D. Military drill

B. Create more slaves.
The boys aimed to impregnate the slave girls rapidly, increasing the master’s valuable property.

39. Who was Gregório’s father’s agent in Bahia?

A. Antônio
B. Domingos Cardoso
C. Francisco
D. Mr Rodrigues

B. Domingos Cardoso.
Domingos Cardoso was the agent responsible for shipping the plantation’s sugar to Lisbon.
40. What determined Gregório’s price at the slave auction?

A. His dirty clothes
B. His intelligence
C. His black grease
D. His broken body

C. His black grease.
The black grease applied by Cardoso made Gregório appear to be a common slave during the auction.

41. What was the runaway slave settlement called?

A. Macombo
B. Quilombo
C. Zaballos
D. Olinda

B. Quilombo.
Jari was planning his freedom by escaping to a ‘quilombo,’ a bunch of villages of runaway slaves.

42. What did Gregório name the slave settlement he ruled?

A. Macombo
B. Quilombo
C. Zaballos
D. Velhas

C. Zaballos.
Gregório took control of the settlement and named it Zaballos in memory of the first master.

43. What was the main trade of Gregório’s Vila Rica business?

A. Slave trading
B. Gold speculation
C. Brothel operation
D. Arms dealing

C. Brothel operation.
Gregório ran a high-class house for mùlatto whores in Vila Rica that was highly profitable.

44. What did Gregório accidentally discover in the river?

A. Green emeralds
B. Gold particles
C. Gunpowder
D. New fish

B. Gold particles.
While bathing in the river Doce as a final dip, Gregório discovered traces of gold.
45. What was Fernão Dias Pais Leme searching for?

A. New land
B. Green emeralds
C. Inca gold
D. Rapôso Tavares

B. Green emeralds.
The Captain Major risked his fortune leading an expedition searching for green emeralds in the mountains.

46. What did the emeralds turn out to be?

A. Fool’s gold
B. Worthless rock
C. Valuable gems
D. Hardened sugar

B. Worthless rock.
Geologists determined that the “emeralds” were actually tourmaline, a worthless rock, a nature’s illusion.

47. Who led the rebellion against Fernão Dias?

A. Jari is his slave
B. His own son
C. Antônio Tavares
D. A gold merchant

B. His own son.
The Captain Major’s own son led the revolt at the camp, referred to as the Little Captain.

48. What did Fernão Dias make the rebels do?

A. Serve as slaves
B. Till the fields
C. Execute his son
D. Drop their guns

D. Drop their guns.
After mocking his son, the Captain Major ordered the men to drop their guns immediately.

49. Who murdered the French nobleman Du Clerc?

A. Duguay-Trouin
B. Gregório’s brother
C. Jealous husband
D. A political rival

B. Gregório’s brother.
Gregório recognised his brother Francisco as one of the three masked men who murdered Du Clerc.
50. What did Gregório’s final arms deal lead to?

A. Great profit
B. Financial ruin
C. A peaceful truce
D. His noble title

B. Financial ruin.
The massive arms order, cancelled due to shipping losses, led to penalty clauses and potential financial ruin.

Brief Overview

The Native is a novel by Zulfikar Ghose, first published in 1972. It is the first book of The Incredible Brazilian trilogy. The novel tells the picaresque, unusual life story of Gregório Peixoto da Silva Xavier in colonial Brazil, focusing on his rise and fall.

The novel starts on Gregório’s fourteenth birthday. He sleeps with the maid Aurelia and is given a slave named Jari. Gregório later joins a disastrous trip to hunt Indians. His older brother, Antônio, dies during this brutal journey.

Father Prado, a priest, saves Gregório. He returns home and agrees to marry his deaf step-sister, Alicia. His stepmother, Augustina, brutally attacks Aurelia out of jealousy. Gregório becomes the master of the plantation, but he is vain and cruel, often whipping the slaves.

He soon loses all his inherited wealth due to extravagance and deep debt. He is betrayed, painted black, and sold as a slave in Salvador. Gregório escapes with Jari and establishes himself as the leader of a large colony of runaway slaves known as Zaballos.

He leaves to search for emeralds with Captain Major Fernão Dias Pais Leme. After years of searching, they find worthless rocks instead of the gems they were seeking. Gregório then finds real gold and becomes very rich in Vila Rica. He sells weapons to both sides during a local civil war to maximize his profit.

He flees to Rio de Janeiro to escape political trouble. There, he tries to negotiate with a French officer, René Duguay-Trouin, who is attacking the city. Gregório attempts to seduce Duguay-Trouin’s beautiful servant, Françoise. Gregório dies suddenly of a heart attack when he realizes that Françoise is actually a boy in disguise.

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