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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. Soon after Biju's phone call, what does Biju start to tell people when he doesn't want to talk to them?

2. What do the police do to an innocent drunk man six months after the library visit?

3. What do the GNLF boys do to Biju?

4. What has Gyan told his friends in the liberation movement about Sai that makes him feel guilty?

5. When the judge asked his wife if she was stupid, what was her reply?

Short Essay Questions

1. In chapter 40, how does Sai react when she discovers that Gyan lives in poverty and what does this signify?

2. What is the significance of Sai catching a cold in chapter 39 while she is obsessed with thoughts and feelings regarding Gyan?

3. In chapter 37, does Noni make the right decision by allowing the GNLF boys to stay in their home? Or should she have listened to Lola and tried to make them leave?

4. In chapter 36, what does the author convey by the bad connection on the phone line between Biju and his father?

5. What do Biju's childhood memories reveal about his character?

6. In chapter 30, what does Harish-Harry tell Biju that illustrates how naive he is about the situation of the illegal immigrants who work for him?

7. In chapter 41, how does Biju's reaction to the travel agent's advice reflect Biju's idea of what constitutes a "better life"?

8. Would the judge's character be different if his father had not sent him away to school?

9. In chapter 36, what does Biju point out to Mr. Iype that illustrates Biju's ideas about immigration?

10. Is the judge justified for blaming the cook for Mutt's disappearance in chapter 51?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The judge and Biju are both victims of very different types of Indian tokenization while they are abroad. The judge is allowed to join the ICS only because they want more Indian members. Biju is not permitted to apply for a green card only because he is an Indian, and there are too many Indians who want one. How is each character ultimately affected by the knowledge that he is being categorized solely on the basis of his ethnicity? Does the judge see his experience as good luck and Biju see his as bad? How do these experiences relate to the two characters' feelings about their Indian identity? How do the experiences affect their character development later on?

Essay Topic 2

Sai's unusual family life and relationships influence her in specific ways. Which characters do you think have most shaped the person she is today? Do you think she would be different if she had been raised in a traditional Indian family with a mother and father and attended a regular school? If so, how would this impact her character, her behavior, her relationships, and the choices she makes?

Essay Topic 3

Biju and the judge were both sent away by their fathers in order to have a better life. Compare and contrast the two characters' experiences abroad, and how they ultimately affected each character. Why do you think things turned out so differently for the two characters? Does it have to do with their experiences? Their upbringing? Their personality?

(see the answer keys)

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