General Knowledge MCQs
Topic Notes: General Knowledge
MCQs and preparation resources for competitive exams, covering important concepts, past papers, and detailed explanations.
Plato
- Biography: Ancient Greek philosopher (427–347 BCE), student of Socrates and teacher of Aristotle, founder of the Academy in Athens.
- Important Ideas:
- Theory of Forms
- Philosopher-King
- Ideal State
31
Who is the author of 'The Sympathizer', which won the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction?
Answer:
Viet Thanh Nguyen
Viet Thanh Nguyen won the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for 'The Sympathizer'. It is a spy novel about a half-French, half-Vietnamese communist sleeper agent during the final days of the Vietnam War.
32
George Saunders won the 2017 Booker Prize for his first novel, which features Abraham Lincoln. What is it called?
Answer:
Lincoln in the Bardo
George Saunders won the 2017 Booker Prize for 'Lincoln in the Bardo'. The novel is set in the graveyard where Lincoln's young son, Willie, has just been interred.
33
Which comedic novel by Andrew Sean Greer won the 2018 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction?
Answer:
Less
Andrew Sean Greer won the 2018 Pulitzer Prize for 'Less'. The novel is a satire about a failed novelist who travels the world to avoid attending his ex-boyfriend's wedding.
34
Anna Burns won the 2018 Booker Prize for 'Milkman'. The novel is notable for what stylistic choice?
Answer:
Characters are referred to by designations rather than names.
In 'Milkman', Anna Burns does not use proper names for her characters. Instead, they are referred to by descriptions such as 'middle sister', 'maybe-boyfriend', and 'the milkman'.
35
Richard Powers won the 2019 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for which novel about trees and activism?
Answer:
The Overstory
Richard Powers won the 2019 Pulitzer Prize for 'The Overstory'. The novel weaves together the stories of nine strangers who are summoned by trees to protect the last remaining virgin forests.
36
Margaret Atwood's 2019 Booker Prize-winning novel 'The Testaments' is a sequel to which earlier work?
Answer:
The Handmaid's Tale
Margaret Atwood's 'The Testaments' is the sequel to her 1985 classic 'The Handmaid's Tale'. It won the 2019 Booker Prize jointly with Bernardine Evaristo's 'Girl, Woman, Other'.
37
Margaret Atwood and Bernardine Evaristo shared the Booker Prize in 2019. Which book did Evaristo write?
Answer:
Girl, Woman, Other
Bernardine Evaristo won the 2019 Booker Prize (jointly with Margaret Atwood) for 'Girl, Woman, Other'. It is a polyphonic novel following the lives of 12 primarily black, British women.
38
Colson Whitehead has won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction twice. For which two novels did he win?
Answer:
The Underground Railroad and The Nickel Boys
Colson Whitehead won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 2017 for 'The Underground Railroad' and again in 2020 for 'The Nickel Boys', making him one of the few authors to win the award twice.
39
Douglas Stuart's debut novel won the 2020 Booker Prize. What is its title?
Answer:
Shuggie Bain
Douglas Stuart won the 2020 Booker Prize for his debut novel 'Shuggie Bain'. Set in 1980s Glasgow, it tells the story of a young boy growing up with an alcoholic mother.
40
Who authored the 2021 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel 'The Night Watchman'?
Answer:
Louise Erdrich
Louise Erdrich won the 2021 Pulitzer Prize for 'The Night Watchman'. The novel is based on the life of her grandfather, who fought against the dispossession of Native American lands in the 1950s.