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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. Who gave Ravana his name?

2. Who is the mother of the five Pandava brothers in Draupadi?

3. What red-robed, red-eyed figure looming nearby with a noose in his hands does Savriti encounter in the woods?

4. Who tells Savitri that she should not marry the man she desires because he can see the future?

5. What is the true identity of Siti in Valmiki?

Short Essay Questions

1. Who named Ravana? Describe his family.

2. What do Ravana and his brothers do when they come out from seclusion?

3. What do the king and queen of Madurai do upon learning of the wrongs done to Kovalan in The Mispaired Anklet? What does Kannagi do?

4. Who arrives to save Sita in Ravana? What does he do to free her?

5. What does a serpent give Nala in repayment for saving him?

6. What does Savitri do when her husband's death is coming near in Savitri?

7. What causes the downfall of Kovalan in The Mispaired Anklet?

8. Describe King Nala. Who visits him in the beginning of the story Nala?

9. Who does Savitri discover by her husband in the forest in Savitri? What does she say to him?

10. What does Ravana hear of Rama throughout the city? What is his impression?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Describe and discuss the Ramayana and Mahabharata. How many stories in Gods, Demons, and Others are derived from these texts? When were they written?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the life of the author, R. K. Narayan, his culture and literary career, and the influences which he drew from in adapting Gods, Demons, and Others.

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the desire for immortality by the asuras in Devi. What is the driving force of "evil," according to R. K. Narayan's perspective? What defines "good"?

(see the answer keys)

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