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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. What does Nusswan think should happen to the people who live on the streets?

2. Who do the police arrest in Chapter 16 for the murders of the beggars?

3. Where was Maneck's roommate's body found?

4. Who does the facilitator complain that he does not want to feed and house?

5. Where is the bump that grows on the Beggarmaster and his newly found relatives' bodies, proving their relation to one another?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why are the police called to Shankar's funeral?

2. Why does Dina lose her apartment?

3. How does the Beggarmaster know that he is related to Shankar?

4. What happens when the Beggarmaster comes to visit the relocation camp in Chapter 9?

5. How do the established workers at the relocation camp treat the newcomers?

6. How does Om lose his testicles?

7. What do Om and Maneck do during their vacation from work?

8. What happens to Rajaram that prompts him to leave his job at the government?

9. What do Om and Ishvar see when they visit their old boss, Jeevan?

10. What living conditions do the tailors see when they are returning home on their first night of freedom, and how does the Beggarmaster explain it?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The societal structure set up in the novel is one of authority. It seems that most people want authority over others, and once they have it, find themselves exploiting it. Choose one relationship with the novel and explain how both authority and exploitation are large factors in the way that these two people relate. Does it seem that only one person is benefiting in the relationship, or is it possible to find a balance, even when exploitation is involved?

Essay Topic 2

The "Emergency" is a very powerful force of destruction within the novel.

Part 1.) Briefly explain what the state of Emergency within the novel was.

Part 2.) Explain the catastrophic results this state of Emergency had on the lives of the main characters.

Part 3.) Explain why you think calling the situation an emergency was validated within the novel.

Essay Topic 3

When Om and Ishvar are sent to the work camp, they seem to go about their lives as though nothing has changed. Why do you think that the two men chose to accept their circumstances? Why do you think the two men chose not to fight back or attempt an escape? What support can you find in the text to explain for the tailors' apparent apathetic view of their lives, and how do their views compare/contrast to the other men in the camp?

(see the answer keys)

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