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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 Mr. Biswas' new neighbor think he should have paid for the house?

2. In Book 2, Chapter 1, which relative invites Mr. Biswas for a visit?

3. How is Shekhar's wife, Dorothy, different from the other Tulsi women?

4. Which character fails the examination?

5. Why does Mrs. Tulsi evict everyone from the house in Port of Spain?

Short Essay Questions

1. How do the school examinations affect the children of the Tulsi household?

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

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

4. How does Mr. Biswas get his first job for the "Trinidad Sentinel?"

5. Describe Mr. Biswas' new job with the Community Welfare Department.

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

7. How does the Biswas family feel about the purchase of their new home?

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

9. Describe the final details of the sale of the clerk's house.

10. How is Mr. Biswas' second house spared from burning?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss the differences between Eastern and Western standards of success. Which standard does the Tulsi family follow? Which standard does Mr. Biswas follow? How does the conflict with the Tulsi family affect Mr. Biswas' attitude towards success? How might his attitude affect the future of his children and grandchildren?

Essay Topic 2

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?

Essay Topic 3

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?

(see the answer keys)

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