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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. Which of the following is Manju’s cousin?

2. How long does the train ride take that carries Asha and her family back to her hometown?

3. Under which charity’s banner is the school where Manju works?

4. As which of the following does Cynthia claim to work?

5. Which of the following seeks an intimate encounter with Asha?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why did India set up high-speed courts, per the text?

2. Why had the women of Asha’s hometown esteemed her in her youth?

3. Why had Sunil and Sonu fallen out previously?

4. What causes Asha to feel “like a giantess, coming home” (135)?

5. How does Sunil know that almonds have ripened?

6. How does Manju persuade her mother to let her wear jeans?

7. What prompts Asha to berate Manju for her teaching work?

8. Why is the wedding Asha and her family attend in her hometown subdued?

9. In the text, how are fast-track trials conducted?

10. To what does Meena’s family ascribe her death?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What character is the protagonist of Behind the Beautiful Forevers? How does the book support such an assertion?

Essay Topic 2

Consider the juxtaposition of Asha’s family’s expectations in her home region and her own in Mumbai. What emerges as the most prominent feature of that juxtaposition? What makes it most prominent, and how does it do so?

Essay Topic 3

Sources attest to the presence of Behind the Beautiful Forevers on best-seller lists. Assuming that sales figures reflect popularity, what accounts for the popularity of the book? How does it do so?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 508 words (approx. 2 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample