The Unvanquished MCQs

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Author: Nasir Iqbal | Assistant Professor of English Literature


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

The Unvanquished MCQs

1. What were Ringo and Bayard playing before Loosh arrived?

A. Vicksburg map
B. Soldier game
C. Digging a trench
D. Building a house

A. Vicksburg map.
They were creating a living map of Vicksburg and the River behind the smokehouse.

2. What city did Loosh mention was “on the way” besides Vicksburg?

A. Chattanooga
B. Corinth
C. Atlanta
D. Memphis

B. Corinth.
Loosh laughed and told Bayard about Corinth, implying the Yankees were approaching that city.

3. What did Louvinia’s voice flatten when she stopped Bayard and Ringo from playing?

A. The dirt
B. Their dust
C. Their voices
D. The musket

B. Their dust.
Louvinia’s voice descended, flattening the dust that the boys had raised while yelling “Kill the bastards!”

4. What physical item struck against the steps when Father dismounted stiffly?

A. His coat
B. The sabre
C. His boots
D. The pistol

B. The sabre.
Father dismounted stiffly, and his heavy sabre clashed against each one of the steps as he mounted.
5. What unusual clothing detail did Bayard notice Father was wearing while building the stock pen?

A. Gray coat
B. Yankee trousers
C. Muddy boots
D. Blue hat

B. Yankee trousers.
Bayard noticed Father was wearing captured Yankee trousers made of new, strong blue cloth while working.

6. Where did Father, Louvinia, and Loosh secretly hide the family silver?

A. In the attic
B. In the orchard
C. Under the house
D. In the well

B. In the orchard.
Father instructed Louvinia and Loosh to wait with shovels to bury the trunk containing the silver in the orchard.

7. What key information did Loosh bring back from his night ride toward Corinth?

A. General Grant
B. General Sherman
C. General Lee
D. General Forrest

B. General Sherman.
Loosh returned, shouting that General Sherman was coming to sweep the earth and set the Race free.

8. What did Granny initially shout at Bayard and Ringo when they warned her about the Yankees?

A. Called Louvinia
B. Told them to bed
C. Looked for a musket
D. Asked for John

B. Told them to bed.
Granny shouted at Bayard to go to bed and told Louvinia to whip them if she heard another sound.

9. Where were Bayard and Ringo hiding when they saw the first Yankee soldier?

A. Cedar copse
B. Woodpile
C. Smokehouse
D. Kitchen window

A. Cedar copse.
They watched the road for two days, lying in the cool, shady cedar copse.
10. What weapon did the boys use to shoot the Yankee soldier?

A. Shotgun
B. Pistol
C. Musket
D. Rifle

C. Musket.
They carried the heavy, long musket, which had been resting on pegs over the mantel, to the road.

11. What was the major casualty of the boys’ shot at the Yankee?

A. The Yankee
B. The musket
C. The horse
D. Bayard’s arm

C. The horse.
The sergeant revealed they had to shoot the horse because the boys had broken its back.

12. What did Granny tell the Yankee sergeant when he asked about the boys?

A. They ran away
B. They went fishing
C. No children
D. They were sick

C. No children.
Granny stated clearly, “There are no children in this house nor on this place.”

13. What was the name of the Yankee colonel who spared the children?

A. Colonel Dick
B. Colonel Grant
C. Colonel Harrison
D. Colonel Sartoris

A. Colonel Dick.
The colonel who entered was Colonel Dick, and Granny later used his name to requisition mules.

14. What did Granny make Bayard and Ringo do immediately after the Yankees left?

A. Kneel and pray
B. Fetch water
C. Wash mouths
D. Go to bed

C. Wash mouths.
Granny made them go to the kitchen to fetch water and new soap to wash the cursed words from their mouths.
15. Why did Granny insist on digging up the silver trunk immediately before leaving for Memphis?

A. For security
B. To hide it
C. She had a dream
D. John ordered it

C. She had a dream.
Granny told Louvinia she decided to dig up the trunk because she had a troubling dream about it.

16. Where was the trunk hidden inside Granny’s room before the trip to Memphis?

A. Under the bed
B. Behind the bed
C. In the closet
D. Under floor

B. Behind the bed.
Joby and Loosh were made to pull the bed out and slide the extremely heavy trunk in behind it.

17. What surprised Ringo and Bayard when Granny secured her room after the trunk was moved?

A. Granny cried
B. She locked the door
C. She lit the lamp
D. She wore a hat

B. She locked the door.
For the first time they could remember, they heard a key turn in the lock of Granny’s bedroom door.

18. Which McCaslin twin was still serving in the Confederate army in Virginia?

A. Uncle Buck
B. Uncle Buddy
C. Neither
D. Both

B. Uncle Buddy.
Uncle Buddy (Theophilus) won the poker game and was serving as a sergeant in Virginia.

19. What non-human entity did the McCaslin twins believe land truly belonged to?

A. The People
B. God
C. The Earth
D. The State

C. The Earth.
Uncle Buck and Buddy believed that the land did not belong to people, but that people belonged to the earth.
20. According to Bayard, how many men did Father currently have in his “regiment”?

A. Five hundred
B. One thousand
C. About fifty
D. Two dozen

C. About fifty.
Bayard told the captain that Father’s irregular cavalry had about fifty men, not a thousand.

21. What did Ringo carry that he claimed was “closer than Memphis dirt”?

A. Sartoris Earth
B. Vicksburg soil
C. Virginia mud
D. Corinth dirt

A. Sartoris Earth.
Ringo treasured a pinch of Sartoris earth, mixed with Vicksburg soil, which Bayard shared.

22. Why did Granny refuse the Confederate officer’s offer of an escort to Memphis?

A. Feared ambush
B. John forbade it
C. Trusted Yankees
D. Believed in God

C. Trusted Yankees.
Granny refused the escort, stating her experience with Yankees suggested they would not bother a woman.

23. Who ambushed the wagon and stole the horses and mules while heading toward Memphis?

A. Confederate men
B. Five men
C. Yankee cavalry
D. McCaslin kin

B. Five men.
The attackers were five men running and holding to stirrups who cut the harness and took the mules.

24. What physical defect did Ringo’s newly “borrowed” U.S. horse possess?

A. Làme leg
B. Blind eye
C. Deaf
D. Wild temper

B. Blind eye.
Father told Ringo to get on his side because the horse was blind in its near eye.
25. What did Father force Bayard to do during the capture of the Yankee patrol?

A. Sound trumpet
B. Shoot pistol
C. Make a fuss
D. Lead attack

C. Make a fuss.
Father told Bayard (Lieutenant) to ride up the hill, close in, make a fuss, and holler loudly.

26. What did Father intend to do with the sixty captured Yankee prisoners?

A. Exchange them
B. Give them muskets
C. Shoot them
D. Release them

B. Give them muskets.
Father gave the Yankees their muskets and ammunition and let them sneak off in their underclothes.

27. How did Granny acquire the two horses she and Joby used to return home from the ambush site?

A. Purchased
B. Borrowed
C. Requisitioned
D. Stole them

B. Borrowed.
When Father asked, Granny stated plainly that she “borrowed them” from an unknown source.

28. How did Father finally escape the Yankees when they returned to the house after the capture?

A. Up the chimney
B. Through back doors
C. On foot
D. By horse

B. Through back doors.
Father rode Jupiter through the lattice half doors at the back of the hallway, bursting them open.

29. What did Granny realize Loosh had betrayed to the Yankees?

A. The money
B. The musket
C. The silver
D. The mules

C. The silver.
Granny realized Loosh had told the Yankees where the family silver was buried in the orchard.
30. What specific river did Loosh claim God’s angel was leading him toward?

A. The Mississippi
B. The Tennessee
C. The Jordan
D. The Ohio

C. The Jordan.
Loosh claimed God’s own angel was leading him and the Race to Jordan, where they would be free.

31. What document did Granny pin inside her dress before leaving on the new mission?

A. Colonel Dick’s name
B. A prayer
C. A map
D. List of stock

A. Colonel Dick’s name.
Granny pinned a scrap of paper inside her dress with “Colonel Nathaniel G. Dick” and his regiment.

32. What technology did Ringo obsessively talk about and wish to see?

A. Telegraph
B. Steamboat
C. Railroad
D. Sewing machine

C. Railroad.
Ringo constantly talked about the railroad, which Bayard had seen at Hawkhurst before the war started.

33. What sound characterized the groups of newly freed Negroes traveling the road?

A. Loud yelling
B. Panting murmur
C. Drumming
D. Quiet prayer

B. Panting murmur.
The migrating groups made a low sound, described as a breathing, gasping, murmuring chant and fast feet.

34. What fate did the railroad track at Hawkhurst suffer?

A. Stolen parts
B. Torn up
C. Twisted
D. Burnt ties

D. Burnt ties.
The ties were dug up and burned, and the rails were tied around trees like knots in cornstalks.
35. What did Drusilla threaten to shoot if the Yankees tried to seize her horse, Bobolink?

A. Her pistol
B. The horse
C. The Yankee
D. Herself

B. The horse.
Drusilla pointed the pistol at Bobolink’s ear and threatened to shoot her own horse if they interfered.

36. What did Drusilla say happened to the older Negroes who couldn’t keep up during the exodus?

A. Left to die
B. Sat or crawled
C. Turned back
D. Given food

B. Sat or crawled.
She saw old mèn and women sitting, lying down, or even crawling along the road, calling for help.

37. What did the battle between the two charging locomotives primarily represent to Bayard?

A. Material gain
B. Finality of death
C. Principle
D. Yankee cowardice

C. Principle.
The clash was seen as a meeting of “iron knights” fighting not for gain but for principle.

38. What specific items were listed on the forged order signed by “the General Commanding”?

A. Silver, mules, negroes
B. Food, forage, silver
C. Clothes, boots, muskets
D. Horses, mules, silver

A. Silver, mules, negroes.
The order listed ten chests of silver, one hundred ten mules, and one hundred ten negroes.

39. How many mules did Granny state she lacked when questioned by the cavalry officer at the ford?

A. Fifty
B. Forty-seven
C. Seven
D. Three

C. Seven.
Ringo lied and told the officer they lacked fifty, then admitted the correct number was forty-seven.
40. After the last batch, what was the total number of stock animals Granny and Ringo eventually had?

A. Two hundred
B. One hundred
C. Two hundred forty-six
D. Three hundred

C. Two hundred forty-six.
After losing the team, Granny corrected Ringo’s final count to two hundred and forty-six animals.

41. What was Ab Snopes’s motivation for telling the Yankees where the mules were hidden?

A. Vengeance
B. Commission
C. Competition
D. Greed

D. Greed.
Ringo believed Ab Snopes told them because he was greedy and wanted to sell the mules himself.

42. What did Grumby’s Independents mostly target during their raids?

A. Money and silver
B. Women and children
C. Horses and slaves
D. Food and whiskey

A. Money and silver.
Grumby’s gang tortured Negroes and frightened women to find where money or silver was hidden.

43. What was Granny planning to get back by confronting Grumby’s gang?

A. Money
B. Stolen horses
C. Her will
D. Ab Snopes

B. Stolen horses.
Ab Snopes convinced Granny to requisition the thoroughbred stallion and three stolen mares from Grumby.

44. What was Granny’s final assurance to Bayard before she walked toward the compressor?

A. She was a woman
B. She would call
C. John would come
D. It was for all

D. It was for all.
Granny justified her action, saying, “It’s for all of us,” so Father would have something when he returned.
45. What item did Bayard request from Uncle Buck to pursue Grumby?

A. A pistol
B. A rifle
C. A knife
D. A sabre

A. A pistol.
Bayard requested a pistol or a gun since their musket had burned up with the house.

46. What animal was Ab Snopes said to be better than in terms of reputation?

A. A mule
B. A horse
C. A coon
D. Grumby

D. Grumby.
Uncle Buck claimed that Ab Snopes was better than Grumby because he would lead them right to Grumby.

47. What visible physical detail distinguished Grumby when Ringo and Bayard finally saw him?

A. Red stubble
B. Blue coat
C. Short arm
D. Tied hands

A. Red stubble.
Grumby was a thick-built man with a reddish stubble beard and pale eyes.

48. What did Grumby attempt to do immediately after the bearded man cut his bonds?

A. Begged mercy
B. Attacked
C. Used his pistol
D. Tried to flee

C. Used his pistol.
Grumby leaped, caught the pistol dropped by the bearded man, and ran forward, firing three times.

49. What specific item did Bayard and Ringo bring back to Jefferson after killing Grumby?

A. His coat
B. His body
C. His hand
D. His pistol

C. His hand.
They brought back Grumby’s severed right hand, which was nailed to Granny’s grave board.
50. What did Aunt Jenny (Father’s sister) tell Bayard he must never worry about?

A. The town
B. Being afraid
C. The silver
D. The past

B. Being afraid.
Aunt Jenny stated that she knew Bayard was not afraid, implying he shouldn’t worry about proving his courage.

Brief Overview

The Unvanquished, a novel by William Faulkner, was first published in 1938. The novel tells the story of Bayard and his friend Ringo during the American Civil War.

Bayard is twelve years old at the start, and Ringo is about the same age. They live at Bayard’s home, Sartoris, in Mississippi. Bayard’s father, Colonel Sartoris, is away fighting in Tennessee.

Bayard and Ringo like to play war games using a map they made behind the smokehouse. One day, a slave named Loosh tells them that Vicksburg has fallen, meaning the Union Army is nearby.

Soon after, Bayard’s father comes home. He brought back Yankee pants and no longer wears his sabre. Father orders the family’s silver chest to be hidden. Father, Ringo, and Bayard bury the silver in the orchard.

Later, Union soldiers arrive. Bayard and Ringo shoot at a Yankee soldier and his horse with an old musket. The colonel in charge is angry, but Bayard’s grandmother, Granny, lies and saves the boys from trouble. Loosh runs away to join the Yankees because he is now free. He tells them where the silver is hidden.

Granny, Bayard, and Ringo then travel toward Memphis. Granny uses a forged letter to trick Union officers into giving her mules and horses. She starts a business buying and selling stolen mules to the Yankees.

This eventually leads to her death. Bayard and Ringo later find and kill the man responsible, Grumby, in revenge.

After the war, Father rebuilds the house and marries Drusilla. Father, who kills two men in an election fight, plans to meet his enemy, Ben Redmond, unarmed. Redmond shoots Father. Bayard faces Redmond, choosing not to kill him in revenge. He lets Redmond walk away and leave town.

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