MCQ Questions for Class 10 History: Novels, Society and History
1. The reasons for the novel’s popularity was/were that:
(a) The worlds created by them seemed real, absorbing and credible
(b) They allowed the pleasure of reading them in private, as well as publicly discussing them with friends and relatives
(c) They were cheap and easily available
(d) both (a) and (b)
► (d) both (a) and (b)
2. Why could the authors in the 18th century experiment with different literary styles?
(a) Growth of readership expanded the market for books, and the earnings of the authors increased
(b) Writers became free from financial dependence on and the patronage of the aristocrats
(c) More and more rich people helped authors to write novel
(d) Both (a) and (b)
► (d) Both (a) and (b)
3. The serialised stories of the 19th century (1836 onwards) are compared to television soaps. Why?
(a) Like viewers of television soaps, serialisation allowed readers to relish the suspense
(b) They could discuss the characters of the novel as viewers of TV soaps today
(c) Readers could live for weeks with their stories as viewers do today
(d) All the above
► (d) All the above
4. The first novel in English was :
(a) Samuel Richardson’s Pamela
(b) Walter Scott’s Rob Roy
(c) Henry Fielding’s Tom Jones
(d) Charles Dickens’s Pickwick Papers
► (c) Henry Fielding’s Tom Jones
5. The novel is considered a modern form of literature because :
(a) A mechanical invention, the printing press, gave birth to the novel, the printed book made it popular
(b) It was popular in cities only which flourished in modern times
(c) It became really popular from the 18th century, though first published in the 17th century
(d) Improved communications made the novel a new form of literature
► (a) A mechanical invention, the printing press, gave birth to the novel, the printed book made it popular
6. What actions of the hero of Daniel Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe make us see him as a typical coloniser?
(a) The hero, Robinson Crusoe, is an adventurer and slave trader
(b) He treats coloured people as inferior creatures, even when ship wrecked on an island
(c) He rescues a native, makes him his slave, arrogantly calls him Friday, thinks the latter belongs to an inferior community
(d) All the above
► (d) All the above
7. An ‘Epistolary’ novel is:
(a) A story written in the serial form
(b) A novel based on true historical events
(c) A story written in the form of a series of letters
(d) A story based on the adventures of the hero
► (c) A story written in the form of a series of letters
8. A serialised novel is :
(a) Published in a number of volumes
(b) A novel published in a magazine
(c) A format in which the story is published in instalments, each part in a new issue of a journal
(d) A cheap, illustrated novel
► (c) A format in which the story is published in instalments, each part in a new issue of a journal
9. In his novel Mayor of Casterbridge, Thomas Hardy mourns:
(a) The loss of traditional rural communities, loss of a more personalised world
(b) The growing influence of the new order, running a business on efficient managerial lines
(c) The old rural culture with its independent farmers dying out
(d) Both (a) and (c)
► (d) Both (a) and (c)
10. New readership for the novel in the 18th century consisted of:
(a) The gentlemanly classes in England and France
(b) Lower middle-class people such as shopkeepers and clerks
(c) The traditional aristocratic and gentlemanly classes in England and France along with new groups of lower middle-class people – clerks and shopkeepers
(d) Women and children
► (c) The traditional aristocratic and gentlemanly classes in England and France along with new groups of lower middle-class people – clerks and shopkeepers
11. “People think you a good woman, but you are bad – you are deceitful. I will never call you aunt as long as I live.” From which novel are the above lines taken and why are they significant?
(a) Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. They depict rebellion, not heard of by women at this time
(b) George Eliot’s Mill on the Floss – important as it dignifies rebellion, independence and assertiveness
(c) Helen Hunt’s Ramona - rebellion of an adolescent girl
(d) Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre, shows protest against hypocrisy of elders with startling bluntness, breaking the established norms of society
► (d) Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre, shows protest against hypocrisy of elders with startling bluntness, breaking the established norms of society
12. In his novel Mayor of Casterbridge, Thomas Hardy mourns:
(a) The loss of traditional rural communities, loss of a more personalised world
(b) The growing influence of the new order, running a business on efficient managerial lines
(c) The old rural culture with its independent farmers dying out
(d) Both (a) and (c)
► (d) Both (a) and (c)
13. The novels of Jane Austen portray the world of:
(a) women in urban England in the early 19th century
(b) women in genteel rural society in the early 19th century Britain
(c) both (a) and (b)
(d) women in urban England in the early 20th century
► (b) women in genteel rural society in the early 19th century Britain
14. The first novel to be serialised in English was:
(a) Charles Dickens’ Pickwick Papers in 1836
(b) Henry Fielding’s Tom Jones
(c) Walter Scott’s Ivanhoe
(d) Samuel Richardson’s Pamela
► (a) Charles Dickens’ Pickwick Papers in 1836
13. Which of the following statements is not true about the themes of novels for young boys?
(a) Novels for young boys portrayed rash, foolhardy young men, who sought aimless adventure
(b) The novels portrayed men who were powerful, assertive, independent and daring
(c) The novels were full of adventure set in places remote from Europe
(d) The heroic coloniser confronted ‘natives’, adapted to native life as well as changed anddeveloped them
► (a) Novels for young boys portrayed rash, foolhardy young men, who sought aimless adventure
14. Identify the writer and state in which book the quotation given was written, “It is a truthuniversally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.”
(a) George Eliot - Silly Novel by Lady Novelists
(b) Charlotte Bronte in Jane Eyre
(c) Jane Austen in Pride and Prejudice
(d) Emile Zola in Wuthering Heights
► (c) Jane Austen in Pride and Prejudice
15. Name two novels, written for boys, which became a great hit in the late 19th century.
(a) Treasure Island by R.L Stevenson, 1883
(b) What Katy Did by Susan Coolidge, 1872
(c) Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling, 1894
(d) Both (a) and (c)
► (d) Both (a) and (c)
16. Name the earliest novel in Marathi and describe its theme.
(a) Manjughosha by Naro Sadashiv, the theme is full of amazing events
(b) Yamuna Paryatan by Baba Padmanji, the theme is plight of widows
(c) Muktamala by Moreshwar Halbe, the theme is an imaginary ‘romance’ with a moral purpose
(d) Mochongadh by R.B. Gunjikar
► (b) Yamuna Paryatan by Baba Padmanji, the theme is plight of widows
17. Two important characteristics of the early Hindi novels were:
(a) attempt to bridge the gulf between the traditional values and modernity
(b) to popularise Hindi language by writing fantasies and romances
(c) to teach people to live with honour and dignity and enjoy the pleasures of reading
(d) moralising emphasised traditional values and fantasy combined with simple entertainment
► (d) moralising emphasised traditional values and fantasy combined with simple entertainment
18. Ramona and What Katy Did were:
(a) adventure stories about experiences of young boys
(b) love stories written for adolescent girls by American women writers
(c) novels about heroic deeds of colonisers in strange lands
(d) none of the above
► (b) love stories written for adolescent girls by American women writers
19. The earliest example of a story in prose in Indian literature is:
(a) Kadambari in Sanskrit in the 7th century by Banbhatt
(b) The Panchtantra in Sanskrit
(c) Dastan – in Persian and Urdu
(d) Meghdoot by Kalidasa
► (a) Kadambari in Sanskrit in the 7th century by Banbhatt
20. Who wrote Sevasadan and when?
(a) Bankim Chandra in 1865
(b) Sarat Chandra in 1888
(c) Premchand in 1916
(d) Bharatendu Harishchandra in 1882
► (c) Premchand in 1916
21. Who said this and why?
“Because of our attitude to marriage and for several other reasons one finds in the Hindus neither interesting views nor virtues. If we write about things that we experience daily there would be nothing enthralling about them, so that if we set out to write an entertaining book we are forced to take up with the marvellous.”
(a) Chandu Menon, defending his first novel Indulekha
(b) Marathi novelist, Naro Sadashiv, in defence of his novel, Manjughosha filled with amazing events
(c) Devaki Nandan Khatri, in defence of his romance Chandrakanta, full of fantasy
(d) Srinivas Das, defending his first novel Pariksha-Guru
► (b) Marathi novelist, Naro Sadashiv, in defence of his novel, Manjughosha filled with amazing events
22. Who was the first novelist to portray the darker side of colonial occupation?
(a) Rudyard Kipling
(b) Daniel Defoe
(c) Joseph Conrad
(d) G.A. Henry
► (c) Joseph Conrad
23. The novels, Phulmoni and Karuna are:
(a) Bengali novels translated into Assamese by missionaries
(b) Two Assamese journals published by students in 1888
(c) Original novels written in Bengali
(d) A historical novel in Bengali by Rajanikanta Bardoloi
► (a) Bengali novels translated into Assamese by missionaries
24. The similarity between Chandu Menon of Kerala and Kandukuri Viresalingam of Andhra Pradesh is that :
(a) they both wrote their first novels in their own mother tongue
(b) they were both sub-judges in their own states
(c) they both first attempted to translate English novels into their mother tongues
(d) none of the above
► (c) they both first attempted to translate English novels into their mother tongues
25. The first major historical novel written in Assamese is:
(a) Phulmoni by Portuguese missionaries
(b) Karuna by Portuguese missionaries
(c) Manomati by Rajanikanta Bardoloi in 1900
(d) Durgeshnandini by Bankim Chandra
► (c) Manomati by Rajanikanta Bardoloi in 1900
26. Which of the following statements is false about Chandu Menon and Viresalingam?
(a) Chandu Menon tried to translate an English novel called Henrieta Temple by Benjamin Disraeli in Malayalam
(b) Inspite of all obstacles they completed their translations
(c) Viresalingam attempted to translate Oliver Goldsmith’s Vicar of Wakefield into Telugu
(d) Both the writers gave up their attempts mid-way
► (b) Inspite of all obstacles they completed their translations
27. Hindi novel achieved excellence with the writings of Premchand because:
(a) he could tell a story (Kissa-goi) in a masterly manner
(b) he wrote about issues which pleased the colonial rulers as well as the rich
(c) he lifted the Hindi novel from the realm of fantasy, moralising and simple entertainment to a serious reflection on social issues and lives of ordinary people
(d) he drew characters from all strata of society
► (c) he lifted the Hindi novel from the realm of fantasy, moralising and simple entertainment to a serious reflection on social issues and lives of ordinary people
28. Which of the following books is not written in Hindi?
(a) Pariksha Guru (published in 1882)
(b) Indirabai (published in 1899)
(c) Chandralekha
(d) Sevasadan (published in 1916)
► (b) Indirabai (published in 1899)
29. Jonaki was:
(a) An Assamiya journal that promoted nationalism
(b) A journal published in 1888 by Assamese students in Kolkata, who formed the Assamiya Bhasar Unnatisadhan
(c) A Bengali journal published in 1888 by Bengali students
(d) A historical novel about invasion of Assam by the Britishers
► (a) An Assamiya journal that promoted nationalism
30. Who wrote Chaa Maana Atha Guntha and why is it important?
(a) An anonymous Oriya writer, who wrote the first novel on a rural issue for urban readers
(b) Fakir Mohan Senapati wrote Oriya novels, dealing for the first time with the question of land and its possession
(c) A pathbreaking novel, which made the rural issue a part of urban preoccupations
(d) Both (b) and (c)
► (d) Both (b) and (c)
31. Who wrote Sultana’s Dream and what is its theme?
(a) Rokeya Hossein wrote a fantasy in English, where in a topsy-turvy world women took the place of men
(b) Chandu Menon, about a modern, western-educated girl
(c) Hannah Mullens, a Christian missionary, about the plight of women
(d) Sailabala Ghosh Jaya, about her own life
► (a) Rokeya Hossein wrote a fantasy in English, where in a topsy-turvy world women took the place of men
32. Meyeli is:
(a) Bankim’s Sanskritised prose mixed with a vernacular style
(b) The new style used by Bengali novel, a colloquial style associated with urban life
(c) The simple Bengali used by the poor and illiterate
(d) The language associated with women’s speech
► (d) The language associated with women’s speech
33. Why is Premchand’s Godan considered his best work?
(a) It is an epic on Indian peasantry, with the two protagonists, Hori and his wife Dhania retaining their dignity till the end
(b) It is a moving story of a peasant couple’s struggle against those who hold power – landlords, moneylenders, priests and bureaucrats
(c) Both (a) and (b)
(d) It is picture of those who oppress, steal land and make Hori and Dhania landless labourers
► (c) Both (a) and (b)
34. The special features of Vaikkom Muhammad Basheer’s (1908-96) novels in Malayalam are:
(a) His choice of themes – poverty, insanity and life in prisons
(b) Stories of everyday life of Muslim households written with a sense of humour
(c) based on his own rich personal experience than on books from the past
(d) all the above
► (d) all the above
35. Which book by Charles Dickens has the tale of a poor orphan who lived in a world of petty criminals and beggars?
(a) Germinal
(b) Oliver Twist
(c) Hard Times
(d) Pickwick Papers
► (b) Oliver Twist
36. Which among the following novels has contributed immensely in popularising the Hindi Lanugage?
(a) Godan
(b) Chandrakanta
(c) Indulekha
(d) Sevasadan
► (b) Chandrakanta
37. Kabirlarai (poetry contests) was patronised by merchant elite of which of the following cities?
(a) Bomaby
(b) Calcutta
(c) Madras
(d) Banaras
► (b) Calcutta
38. Who wrote the novel Hard Times?
(a) Jawaharlal Nehru
(b) Thomas Hardy
(c) Jane Austen
(d) Charles Dickens
► (d) Charles Dickens
39. Which of the following books of Charles Dickens was first serialised in a magazine?
(a) Hard Times
(b) Oliver Twist
(c) David Copperfield
(d) Pickwick Papers
► (d) Pickwick Papers
40. Chandu Menon’s characters Indulekha and Madhavan depict:
(a) Western sensibilities
(b) A mythological age
(c) How Indian and foreign lifestyles could be brought together in an ideal combination
(d) The then existing lifestyle among the Nayars of Kerala
► (c) How Indian and foreign lifestyles could be brought together in an ideal combination
41. Who was the author of the novel Anandmath?
(a) Rabindranath Tagore
(b) Bhudeb Mukhopadhyaya
(c) Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyaya
(d) Chandu Menon
► (c) Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyaya
42. Munshi Premchand wrote on which of the following themes?
(a) Oppression in society
(b) Historical
(c) Religious and mythological
(d) Detective and mystery
► (a) Oppression in society
43. Who among the following is the author of Saraswati Vijayam?
(a) Potheri Kunjambu
(b) Chandu Menon
(c) Premchand
(d) Devaki Nandan Khatri
► (a) Potheri Kunjambu
44. Who among the following was not a women novelist?
(a) Jane Austen
(b) George Eliot
(c) Thomas Hardy
(d) Charlotte Bronte
► (c) Thomas Hardy
45. The hero of which novel finds himself shipwrecked on an island, rescues a native, makes him a slave and gives him the name Friday?
(a) Treasure Island
(b) Robinson Crusoe
(c) Mayor of Casterbridge
(d) Pride and Prejudice
► (b) Robinson Crusoe
46. Who wrote Sultana’s Dream?
(a) Rokeya Hossein
(b) Premchand
(c) Srinivas Das
(d) None of these
► (a) Rokeya Hossein
47. What was the title of the first modern novel published in Malayalam?
(a) Muktamala
(b) Indulekha
(c) Chandrakanta
(d) Pariksha Guru
► (b) Indulekha
48. Who among the following is the author of Pariksha Guru?
(a) Devkinandan Khatri
(b) Premchand
(c) Srinivas Das
(d) None of these
► (c) Srinivas Das
49. Which of the following countries was the first where novel took firm root?
(a) England and France
(b) Germany and Japan
(c) U.S.A and Russia
(d) India and China
► (a) England and France
50. Who wrote Pickwick Papers, the first serialised novel?
(a) Richardsan
(b) Charles Dickens
(c) Henry Fielding
(d) None of the above
► (c) Henry Fielding
51. Who among the following did not write about colonialism?
(a) Daniel Defoe
(b) Joseph Conrad
(c) Rudyard Kipling
(d) None of above
► (d) None of above
52. Who among the following shows the darker side of colonial occupation?
(a) Charles Dickens
(b) Joseph Conrad
(c) Thomas Hardy
(d) Rudyard Kipling
► (b) Joseph Conrad
53. Who among the following is the author of the novel Mayor of Casterbridge?
(a) R. L. Stevenson
(b) Thomas Hardy
(c) Charles Dickens
(d) Leo Tolstoy
► (b) Thomas Hardy
54. Who among the following published earliest Marathi Novel ‘Yamuna Paryatan’?
(a) Shrinivas Das
(b) Baba Padmanji
(c) Devkinandan Khatri
(d) Premchand
► (b) Baba Padmanji