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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. After Dina's conversation with Ibrahim, what does Om consider doing?

2. How much money are the villagers actually paid for attending the Prime Minister's speech?

3. What animal does the Monkey-Man kill after returning home from the speech?

4. What does Om rent in an attempt to follow Dina Dalal?

5. What is Dina worried about when the tailors do not show up for work in Chapter 8?

Short Essay Questions

1. Who is Shankar and what is significant about his body?

2. What is Ishvar and Om's reaction to the work that they must do in the relocation camp?

3. How is Ishvar's face disfigured?

4. Why does Om rent a bicycle?

5. What happens to Om's trunk of belongings?

6. What does Dina teach Maneck to do in Chapter 8, and why?

7. What happens after Om is hit by the car while following Dina's taxi?

8. Why does Dina put a padlock on the door?

9. What is the subject of the speech that the Prime Minister is giving to the villagers?

10. How does Maneck's father, Farokh, treat his soft-drink recipe?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Rajaram is a strange character who exists simply by taking things from others. Give three examples of things that Rajaram has stolen from others, and what you think the items he chooses to steal say about him as a character. Then, weigh in on the transition that happens to Rajaram after he has returned from the Himalayas. Do you believe that his character has changed? Why or why not?

Essay Topic 2

The idea of family planning and sterilization is a constant theme within the novel.

Part 1.) Explain what reasons you think the government has for wanting to sterilize villagers.

Part 2.) Explain the ways that the sterilization project spun completely out of control and the catastrophic effects that it had on individuals as well as communities. Were these outcomes intended?

Part 3.) Choose two characters and explain the ways that sterilization project most affected. How might their lives have been different if the sterilization project had never been approved by the government?

Essay Topic 3

When Maneck commits suicide at the end of the novel, his final thought is that he is happy to be holding the chess board. This thought is a bit ambiguous as to whether Maneck is feeling guilt, or if he is overwhelmed with the way that the world has turned out.

Part 1.) Argue what you believe to be the meaning to Maneck's final thoughts.

Part 2.) Argue why you think it was so important to Maneck that he is holding the chess board, especially after he spent years not taking care of it, or missing its presence.

(see the answer keys)

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