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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. How many square feet is Abdul’s storage shed?

2. To which actor does Abdul compare himself?

3. Approximately how many people live in the slum Abdul inhabits?

4. From which of the following does Adarsh hail?

5. Which of the following is the name of a corporate office in Behind the Beautiful Forevers?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Asha mean when she tells a petitioner to go to a temple and pray?

2. Why does Asha attempt to intervene between Zehrunisa and Fatima?

3. What does Abdul identify as Karam’s major flaw?

4. For what reasons do Abdul’s parents favor their selection of a wife for him?

5. Why do people attend the meeting requested by Asha’s political supervisor?

6. Why does Sunil scavenge on a ledge above a river?

7. How does Abdul define good fortune?

8. For what reasons did her neighbors consider Fatima a joke?

9. How does Fatima perceive herself as increased after her self-immolation?

10. Why does Abdul believe others in the area hold his family in disregard?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Section divisions, their titles, and chapter numbering / division schema are all components of paratext. That is, they are not part of the text but are associated with it closely and affect its meaning. What significance, if any, accrues to the chapter-numbering scheme at work in Behind the Beautiful Forevers? If there is significance, how does that significance manifest? If there is not, what in the book supports the paratextual divisions that are in place?

Essay Topic 2

Given their circumstances, how do the participants in the events of the book avoid despair? What does their success at doing so offer readers far removed from those circumstances?

Essay Topic 3

In the book, Abdul considers Fatima: “At the heart of her bad nature, like many bad natures, was probably envy. And at the heart of envy was possibly hope—that the good fortune of others might one day be hers” (88). Is Abdul’s assessment of Fatima accurate? What in the text demonstrates as much, and how does it do so?

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This section contains 593 words (approx. 2 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample