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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 pursues the Tulsi chickens?

2. What does Mr. Biswas purchase through a government sponsored loan?

3. After Mr. Biswas completes his house In Book 2, Chapter 3, which relative moves in with him?

4. In Book 2, Chapter 6, what literature does Owad leave around the house?

5. What problem does Mr. Biswas have with the stairway of his new house?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Mr. Biswas earn his promotion as reporter for the "Trinidad Sentinel?"

2. Why does Mr. Biswas buy a typewriter, and what happens to it later in the story?

3. What is the Deserving Destitutes Fund, and how did Mr. Biswas become involved in it?

4. How does the Deserving Destitutes Fund cause hardship for Mr. Biswas?

5. What factors contribute to the failure of the farm?

6. Describe the house Mr. Biswas bought from the solicitor's clerk.

7. Describe Shekhar's life as an adult.

8. Describe the conflict that arises between Owad and Anand.

9. Who is the "Scarlet Pimpernel", and why are the islanders looking for him?

10. How does Mr. Biswas use Hanuman House after it has been abandoned by the Tulsi family?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss the influence that English literature and education has on the characters in the book. Choose three characters and describe how an English-based curriculum influences their attitudes early in life. How does Mr. Biswas' love of English literature affect his personal philosophy throughout his life? What difficulties do he and other characters experience that can be attributed to the influence of English literature and education?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the effect the division of Mr. Biswas' brothers and sisters had on each character's life. Why might Bipti have made the decision to divide them, and how might it have affected her character throughout the book? How might the death of his father have motivated Mr. Biswas to pursue a better life? What might have happened to Mr. Biswas and his family if his father had been alive to raise the family?

Essay Topic 3

Mr. Biswas marries a woman he hardly knows. Discuss Mr. Biswas' relationship with Shama. Describe the attitudes they have towards each other early in their marriage. How does their marriage change when they have children? How does their relationship change when Mr. Biswas buys the clerk's house? By the end of their lives together, do they appear to be content with their relationship? Why or why not?

(see the answer keys)

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