Figures of Enchantment MCQs

1. Where does Felipe Gamboa work?

A. Finance Ministry
B. Statistical Bureau
C. Labour Department
D. Planning Office

B. Statistical Bureau.
Gamboa works as a petty clerk in the Bureau of Statistics, which is part of the Ministry of Labour.

2. What covers the sheet of paper on his desk?

A. Office memos
B. Colour pictures
C. Numbers and sums
D. Classified ads

C. Numbers and sums.
The only sheet of paper remaining on his desk was filled with complicated numbers and sums.

3. What pictures are pinned on Gamboa’s cubicle wall?

A. Tropical rainforests
B. Mountain views
C. Pacific islands
D. Famous cities

C. Pacific islands.
Gamboa pinned colour pictures from magazines showing Pacific islands to relieve his oppressive, confined feelings.

4. What immediate change would solve all Gamboa’s problems?

A. A better car
B. A new apartment
C. Another zero
D. Promotion instantly

C. Another zero.
He believes that adding another zero to the end of his salary would magically make all his problems disappear.

5. Where does Gamboa dream of moving his family?

A. Rua Miraflores
B. Nuevo Soho
C. Quinteros
D. Isla Blanca

C. Quinteros.
Gamboa dreams of moving his family from Rua Miraflores to a sumptuous duplex in Quinteros.

6. Who are Gamboa’s friends that he meets on Fridays?

A. Ribera and Salazar
B. Candia and Vivado
C. Felipe and José
D. Chagra and Alfonso

A. Ribera and Salazar.
Gamboa habitually sat over a beer after work on Fridays with his friends Ribera and Salazar.

7. What phrase did Gamboa use in his job application?

A. Past department work
B. My great merit
C. Professional service
D. Dedication always

C. Professional service.
He included the phrase “the execution of my duties in the professional service of our most prestigious department”.

8. What did the Supervisor call Gamboa?

A. Hard working
B. Good employee
C. Exceptional quality
D. Dedicated worker

C. Exceptional quality.
The Supervisor smiled and referred to Gamboa’s “exceptional quality” of staff work.

9. Why did Gamboa lose the Assistant Supervisor position?

A. Lack of merit
B. Minister’s choice
C. Political debt
D. Insufficient experience

C. Political debt.
Gamboa’s friends assured him that the Minister had a political debt to pay, forcing the appointment.

10. What coincidence made the lottery ticket DD12101492 lucky?

A. Independence date
B. Columbus Day
C. Financial windfall
D. Great discovery

B. Columbus Day.
The numbers represent October 12 (1210), Columbus Day, and the year 1492.

11. Who did Gamboa first strike after seeing Mariana kissing?

A. His wife Sonia
B. Federico Chagra
C. Mariana, his daughter
D. A local lout

B. Federico Chagra.
Gamboa grabbed the young man, Federico Chagra, violently, slapping and kicking him before he fled.

12. Who did Gamboa force to beat his daughter, Mariana?

A. His wife Sonia
B. His friend Salazar
C. Federico Chagra
D. The Supervisor

A. His wife Sonia.
Gamboa pushed Sonia toward Mariana’s room, demanding that she “thrash the cheap little bitch”.

13. What illegal organization did Gamboa imagine leading at lunch?

A. Underground movement
B. Political party
C. Workers’ union
D. Secret police

C. Workers’ union.
Gamboa was excited by the image of an underground movement springing up with himself as a kind of leader.

14. Why did Gamboa initially go to the square during lunch?

A. To see friends
B. To join a rally
C. To eat lunch
D. To escape work

C. To eat lunch.
He wanted to be alone to eat his lunch, but was accidentally pushed deeper into the political rally.

15. What military device was used against the crowd in the square?

A. Tanks advancing
B. Tear gas
C. Water cannon
D. Rubber bullets

C. Water cannon.
The military police used water cannon to hit and disperse the crowd, leading to screams and trampling.

16. Where was Gamboa taken after the military round-up?

A. City jail
B. Military base
C. Police station
D. Remote prison

B. Military base.
The van transported Gamboa to the compound of a military base on the edge of the ocean.

17. What mathematical procedure did the Sergeant use initially for selection?

A. Decimation method
B. Random drawing
C. Number elimination
D. Sequential choice

A. Decimation method.
Gamboa deduced that the selection method (tenth, third, and seventh man) was simply carrying out decimation.

18. What number was Gamboa called out as by the Sergeant?

A. Number eleven
B. Number thirteen
C. Number seven
D. Number twenty-eight

B. Number thirteen.
The sergeant stopped in front of Gamboa, shouting out the number “Thirteen!” and calling him the lucky one.

19. What dangerous job was Gamboa forced to do on the Navy ship?

A. Cooking meals
B. Ship maintenance
C. Cleaning chemicals
D. Navigating course

C. Cleaning chemicals.
He was chosen to clean up a dangerous chemical spill because the Navy did not value his health.

20. What bird did Gamboa recognize floating over the horizon?

A. A blue-footed booby
B. A frigate bird
C. An albatross
D. A sea gull

C. An albatross.
He recognised the albatross from the picture he had pinned in his office cubicle.

21. What was Federico’s father doing instead of working late on Friday?

A. Working overtime
B. Drinking and gambling
C. Visiting friends
D. Buying food

B. Drinking and gambling.
Federico knew his father was out drinking with friends, throwing money away on booze and cards.

22. How does Federico primarily view making love with Mariana?

A. Pure love act
B. Guilty passion
C. Preserved innocence
D. Sexual conquest

C. Preserved innocence.
He imagined their bodies were locked in an eternal embrace while preserving their original innocence.

23. What is the name of the main street in Nuevo Soho?

A. Quinteros Road
B. Rua Miraflores
C. Plaza Independencia
D. Braganza Street

B. Rua Miraflores.
Rua Miraflores is identified as the main street of the small district known as Nuevo Soho.

24. What activity took place in the gaming house Federico visited?

A. Card games
B. Lottery sales
C. Cock fights
D. Dice games

C. Cock fights.
Federico followed a group of men into the arena where cock fights were held twice daily.

25. Where did Federico get the money he decided to bet?

A. His savings
B. His mother
C. Father’s wallet
D. School friend

C. Father’s wallet.
He stole two five-hundred conto bills from his father’s wallet when he was asked to fetch it.

26. Why did Federico think he was due a modest winning?

A. Sure bet knowledge
B. Reward for virtue
C. Destiny’s call
D. Fate’s requirement

B. Reward for virtue.
He convinced himself that fate owed him a small prize as a reward for his voluntary sacrifice.

27. What exòtic antique was seen in Popayan’s shop window?

A. A caged owl
B. A golden vase
C. A human skull
D. A silver idol

C. A human skull.
Among the confusion of objects thrown into Popayan’s shop window was a human skull.

28. What was the actual bet limit posted at the cock fight arena?

A. One hundred contos
B. One thousand contos
C. Five hundred contos
D. Ten contos limit

A. One hundred contos.
A notice confirmed the betting limit was one hundred contos, a restriction Federico had failed to see.

29. What object did Popayan place around Federico’s neck?

A. A gold medallion
B. Tiny brass book
C. A silver chain
D. A bronze cross

B. Tiny brass book.
Popayan clasped a tiny brass rectangle shaped like a book on a chain around Federico’s neck.

30. What garment did Popayan give Federico for protection?

A. Blue velvet cape
B. Black and red cloak
C. Yellow satin scarf
D. Leather armor

B. Black and red cloak.
Popayan gave Federico a cloak made of black and red cotton with yellow crescents and stars.

31. What was Daniela celebrating when she threw the party?

A. Her birthday
B. Her motherhood
C. Her divorce
D. Her new house

C. Her divorce.
Daniela gave the party to celebrate her divorce from a banker after sixteen years of marriage.

32. Daniela’s costume depicted the legendary figure known as what?

A. Vicious Witch
B. Divorcee Queen
C. Thief of Children
D. Jungle Woman

C. Thief of Children.
Her costume was inspired by a witch figure called the Thief of Children from a Pacific island trìbe.

33. Daniela’s initial memory of Federico.

A. A lost child
B. A handsome poet
C. A stray dog
D. A young warrior

C. A stray dog.
She noticed the look of helplessness in Federico’s eyes, which reminded her of a dog they adopted as a child.

34. Where did Federico move to escape the ocean’s noise?

A. The gazebo
B. The drawing room
C. The nursery
D. The maid’s cottage

C. The nursery.
He moved to the nursery across the hall to escape the turbulent ocean’s noise and found sleep there.

35. What recurring ritual did Daniela perform with Federico at night?

A. Reading stories
B. Suckling him
C. Giving birth
D. Dancing together

C. Giving birth.
She enacted a ritual of creation, feeling she devoured the flesh she had given birth to.

36. Why did Federico realize his wish for a beautiful woman was exactly fulfilled?

A. He loved her deeply
B. She was perfectly beautiful
C. He forgot conditions
D. The amulet failed

C. He forgot conditions.
His wish had only been for a beautiful woman to love him, not that she remain beautiful forever.

37. What caused the cloak to finally tear off its lower section?

A. A hidden moth
B. An accidental pull
C. A sharp knife
D. A table corner

D. A table corner.
While putting it away, the cloak caught on the pointed corner of a side table, tearing the material.

38. What change had Daniela undergone while Federico stayed at her house?

A. Became much older
B. Lost considerable weight
C. Gained immense wealth
D. Changed hair color

B. Lost considerable weight.
Daniela returned slim with reddish hair, a great contrast to the obèse woman Federico had known.

39. How does Ernesto Vivado describe himself?

A. Film producer
B. Rich banker
C. Middleman of dreams
D. Real estate agent

C. Middleman of dreams.
Vivado described himself as only a “middleman of other people’s dreams,” trafficking in fantasy experiences.

40. What is Herminia’s grandmother’s name?

A. Sonia Maturana
B. Herminia Senior
C. Doña Adriana
D. Paulina Maturana

C. Doña Adriana.
Doña Adriana is the gray-haired grandmother who looked after Herminia after her mother died.

41. What is the name of the island Gamboa drifts onto?

A. San Bernardino
B. Isla Blanca
C. Pacific Island
D. Santa Barbara

D. Santa Barbara.
Gamboa drifted into the small bay and came to the island of Santa Barbara.

42. Who helped Gamboa recover and learn about the island?

A. Domingo Maturana
B. Baltazar the boy
C. The foreman
D. Paulina his woman

A. Domingo Maturana.
Domingo Maturana, Doña Adriana’s husband, sat with Gamboa, talking to him and helping him recover.

43. Who became Gamboa’s second woman on the island?

A. Herminia’s mother
B. Paulina Maturana
C. Doña Adriana
D. Sonia Gamboa

B. Paulina Maturana.
Gamboa took Paulina, Maturana’s daughter, as his woman some time after arriving on Santa Barbara.

44. What distance rule did Gamboa set for Baltazar near Herminia?

A. Ten meters
B. Twelve paces
C. Safe distance
D. Twenty feet

B. Twelve paces.
Gamboa strictly ordered Baltazar never to get closer than twelve paces to Herminia.

45. What material did the exiled men extract from the ash pits?

A. Gold ore
B. Volcanic ash
C. Nitrate
D. Precious metals

C. Nitrate.
The mainland chemicals company exploited the islanders to extract nitrate from the ash pits.

46. What topic did Sonia’s mother constantly mutter about?

A. World politics
B. Her three daughters
C. Felipe’s money
D. Her old age

C. Felipe’s money.
Sonia’s mother constantly muttered that “It was all that money he came into,” referring to Felipe.

47. How did Sonia explain Felipe’s absence to others?

A. Ran away
B. God took him
C. Found a new job
D. Died in the city

B. God took him.
Sonia did not want pity for her husband’s betrayal, so she told people that “God took him away”.

48. Who was the father of Mariana’s first daughter?

A. Federico
B. Gerardo
C. Alfonso
D. Emilio

D. Emilio.
Six weeks after their relationship became physical, Mariana discovered she was pregnant by Emilio.

49. What state had Mariana reached by age thirty-four?

A. Rich and famous
B. Dull and ordinary
C. Fat and ugly
D. Contented wife

C. Fat and ugly.
Mariana had become a dumpy little woman, slowly growing fat and ugly by the age of thirty-four.

50. Who was responsible for killing Roberto Quintano?

A. Federico Chagra
B. Gamboa, her father
C. Baltaza,r the boy
D. Herminia herself

C. Baltazar the boy.
Baltazar killed Roberto, but Herminia claimed responsibility to protect the unfortunate creature from punishment.

Brief Overview

Figures of Enchantment is a novel by Zulfikar Ghose, first published in 1986. The book is a magic realist novel that blends a realistic, modern South American urban setting with surreal and fantastical elements.

The novel centers on the sad life and strange fate of Felipe Gamboa, a government clerk. Gamboa works hard but fails to get the promotion he desires. He wants money to move his family to a rich neighbourhood.

He beats Federico Chagra, his daughter Mariana’s boyfriend, and is then arrested by the military and abandoned at sea. Gamboa ends up on Santa Barbara Island, far from home. He has a second daughter there, Herminia, who looks exactly like Mariana.

Federico steals money from his father but quickly loses it. He gets a strange brass amulet from Popayan. Federico becomes the lover of an older, wealthy woman named Daniela. He believes the amulet grants his wishes, even if they happen in a bad way. He later becomes rich working for a powerful criminal business.

Federico returns to the island years later. He finds Gamboa and Herminia, who is the exact age Mariana was when he left.

When Roberto, Federico’s partner, attacks Herminia, an animal-like islander named Baltazar kills Roberto. Gamboa gets very ill and confused. Herminia leaves the island with her sick father, but Federico is left behind.

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