Deck 1: Bend in the river - V.S.Naipaul

Question 1

In the novel, A Bend in the River, Salim starts an affair with the wife of Raymond named

A)Yvette
B)Georgina
C)Zabeth
D)Shoba

Answer 1

Yvette

Question 2

Salim, starts narrating a story in the interior of an unnamed African country of what river?

A)The bend of the long river
B)The bend of the dead river
C)The bend of the great river
D)The bend of the black river

Answer 2

The bend of the great river

Question 3

When Salim finds out that Raymond was the 'Big man's white man' why was he thrilled?

A)Because Salim thinks that Raymond could help him
B)Because Salim wants to be closer to Raymond's wife
C)Because Salim thinks Raymond could take him away
D)Because Salim thinks Raymond to be the highest power in the land

Answer 3

Because Salim thinks Raymond to be the highest power in the land

Question 4

What does the river symbolise in The Bend in the River

A)Lifeline of the people
B)A connection between the past and present
C)The drinking water shared by the people
D)None of the above

Question 5

Who is the 'big man' in the novel, A Bend in the River?

A)Raymond
B)Nazruddin
C)The President
D)Théotime

Question 6

Why does Salim feel sorry for the president after returning from Europe

A)The President was attacked by the media in Europe
B)He knows the future he has seen in Europe could not compare to the President's promise for Africa
C)Salim likes the President and does not want to see him suffer
D)The President was not as good a leader as the one in Europe.

Question 7

Salim travels to London to visit

A)Nazruddin
B)Winterbottom
C)Soraya
D)Ezeulu

Question 8

What is the name of the British Colonial policy Winterbottom is tasked with enforcing?

A)Direct Rule
B)Development
C)Indirect Rule
D)Protectorship

Question 9

'A Bend in the River' was published in

A)1979
B)1980
C)1981
D)1982

Question 10

Salim has a love affair with a women named

A)Annie.
B)Yvette
C)Florence
D)Isabella

Question 11

'A Bend in the River' is set in post-colonial

A)Europe
B)America
C)Africa
D)None of the above

Question 12

"The New Domain" covers several years during which the country is in a period of

A)Economic prosperity
B)Social prosperity
C)Political prosperity
D)Religious prosperity

Question 13

Salim is both the protagonist and the first-person

A)Business-man
B)Hero
C)President
D)Narrator

Question 14

Salim gets involved in the illegal smuggling of

A)Ivory and gold
B)Gold and silver
C)Gold and copper
D)Ivory and copper

Question 15

What ethnicity was Soraya?

A)Muslim
B)Afrikaner
C)Dutch
D)British

Question 16

What was wrong with Mahesh's engraving machine that makes signs?

A)The machine was too complicated for him to operate.
B)It was impossible to assemble.
C)He could not get the raw materials to make the signs.
D)No one needed signs.

Question 17

What is Indar's moment of insight?

A)He understands that he was meant to write the African story.
B)He realizes he must return to his roots to be happy.
C)He knows without a doubt that he belongs to himself alone and would surrender his manhood to nobody.
D)He sees he has not marketed himself correctly.

Question 18

How does the purser on the steamer show that he does not respect the President in A Bend in the River?

A)He speaks French which the President has banned.
B)He sneers every time the President is mentioned.
C)He puts a cloth over the President's portrait.
D)He sits down when the national anthem is played.

Question 19

What confidence does Indar impart to Salim?

A)The Domain is about to become an officer training school for the army.
B)The Domain is going to close for lack of funds.
C)The President is going to replace Raymond at the Domain.
D)The President is going his own way and no longer needs Raymond's help.

Question 20

Why does Salim think Yvette married the much older Raymond?

A)She must have had an unhappy homelife.
B)She must have been very lonely.
C)She must have thought he was extraordinary.
D)She must have thought he would be rich.

Question 21

Who is the surprise visitor to Salim's store?

A)Zabeth's husband
B)The President
C)Indar
D)Salim's brother

Question 22

What amazes Salim about Raymond?

A)He does not seem to love Yvette.
B)He has no ambition to leave the country.
C)He works on plans to overthrow the President.
D)His position with the President is shaky but he remains loyal.

Question 23

What does the President in A Bend in the River do at a ruined suburb?

A)He builds a large complex.
B)He builds a shoe factory.
C)He builds a new barracks for his army.
D)He levels it and makes a park.

Question 24

Why does Metty inform on Salim's black market activities?

A)Because Salim refused him money to leave the town
B)Because Salim takes Theo's side againt him
C)Because Metty has always hated Salim
D)Because Salim did not bring back presents from Europe

Question 25

What do the townspeople in A Bend in the River speculate about the new complex?

A)That it will be a munitions factory.
B)That it will be a model farm and agriculture school.
C)That it will be a large hospital.
D)That it will be the President's winter palace.

Question 26

Why was Indar turned down at the Indian High Commission?

A)He is not a Hindu.
B)He does not speak Hindi.
C)He is too young.
D)He is not a citizen of India.

Question 27

What has become of Kareisha, Nazruddin's daughter whom Salim feared he might have to marry?

A)Kareisha has left the family and moved to America.
B)Kareisha is married to a British man and has four children.
C)Kareisha has gone to India and will marry a doctor.
D)Kareisha, Nazruddin's daughter, has become a pharmacist.

Question 28

What is the difference between Salim and Indar as they walk to the river after the party?

A)Indar sees the beauty of the place while Salim sees only garbage.
B)Salim is confused, but Indar is sure of himself.
C)Indar wants to meditate but Salim wants to talk.
D)Salim is exhilarated by the evening but Indar is edgy.

Question 29

What does Shoba do when she returns?

A)She announces that she is pregnant.
B)She goes into isolation.
C)She opens a beauty salon.
D)She refuses to speak to Mahesh.

Question 30

What does Indar mean when he tells Salim he's where it's at?

A)Where everything will come to an end.
B)Where these is the peace of obscurity.
C)Where big things are happening.
D)Where the new revolution will start.

Question 31

Why is Salim released from detention to fly back to his home?

A)His papers are all in order.
B)He will be interrogated when he gets back to the town.
C)Ferdinand comes to his rescue.
D)The official keeping Salim has held up the flight and gets reprimanded.

Question 32

Reading some of Raymond's articles, what does Salim conclude?

A)That Raymond will win the Nobel Prize for literature
B)That Raymond's book will be a best seller
C)That Raymond is a genius as a writer
D)That Raymond had never visited the places he wrote about

Question 33

What word does Indar say kept his spirits high when he first arrived in London?

A)"University" seemed like a magic word, and Indar thought a magic life awaited him.
B)"Opportunity" was Indar's magic word in London.
C)"Education" was the word that meant the most to him.
D)"Career" was the magic word that drove him to study hard.

Question 34

What is Indar doing in the town?

A)He is just passing through.
B)He has decided to follow Salim's example.
C)He is taking over the lycee.
D)He is a guest lecturer at the Domain.

Question 35

What has happened to the European statues in the Capital city in A Bend in the River?

A)They have been polished to look good.
B)They have all been moved to the President's palace.
C)They have been melted down for the copper.
D)They have been replaced with statues of African tribesmen.

Question 36

What is the significance of Ferdinand's question about religion?

A)It shows that politics and religion will always be at odds.
B)It shows that young Africans are looking for a way out of their old religions.
C)It shows some of the struggle of socializing men with tribal roots into citizens of a modern state.
D)It shows that Ferdinand is thinking of becoming a magician like Zabeth.

Question 37

What surprising action does the President take for the town in A Bend in the River?

A)He waives taxes for the town.
B)He is disbanding the Youth Guard in Salim's area.
C)He plans to completely renovate the town.
D)He declares martial law in the town.

Question 38

Why is Salim jailed?

A)Because he cannot pay the $4000 fine.
B)Because he defamed the President
C)Because he beat up Metty
D)Because he refused to work for Theo

Question 39

Why do people like to go to the Bigburger in A Bend in the River?

A)Mahesh has young girls working there.
B)They develop a taste for French fried potatoes.
C)To get inside an air conditioned building where they do not smell the garbage.
D)There is no place else to go.