View a FREE sample

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

Short Answer Questions

1. In Chapter 15, what family member does Ashraf tell the tailors has died?

2. To whom is it revealed that the Beggarmaster is related?

3. What is the last thing that Dina hears the men breaking in her apartment?

4. Whose idea was it that all four characters eat dinner together in Chapter 10?

5. Who do Om and Ishvar recognize as a performer at the relocation camp?

Short Essay Questions

1. How is the Beggarmaster killed?

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

3. 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?

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

5. How is Shankar killed?

6. Why does the Beggarmaster leave Shankar on the streets even after it is revealed that they are brothers?

7. Why does Dina go to speak to Mrs. Gupta and what does she tell her?

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

9. Why does Rajaram want to move to the Himalayas?

10. How does Om lose his testicles?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

There are many different landscapes over which this novel takes place: the mountains, the slums, and the cities. Briefly explain what do you think each of these landscapes represents, and why do you think Mistry chose to set certain events of the novel within each of these landscapes?

Essay Topic 2

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?

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)

This section contains 776 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample