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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 actress features in Meena’s favorite commercials?

2. In what Indian state are Maoist revolutionaries active in the book?

3. How many rupees is the fine for spitting in the courthouse?

4. Per the text, which of the following does Freud identify as a main group of fantasy?

5. Which of the following police officers beats Sunil?

Short Essay Questions

1. Summarize Priya’s testimony in Karam’s case.

2. Why is Navrarti welcomed by the local girls?

3. Why do Sunil and Kalu like to look at their slum from a pile of rubble?

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

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

6. What is Asha’s main regret as her political career advances?

7. Why are Abdul’s compatriots accepting of deceptions in narratives?

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

9. What causes Sunil’s sister to become bald?

10. How does Manju plan to escape an arranged marriage to a rural soldier?

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

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 3

Consider the quotation prefacing Part Two: The Business of Burning: “Rich people fight about stupid things. Why shouldn’t poor people do the same?” (69). To what extent does it correspond with the contents of the book as a whole? What in the text shows as much, and how does it do so?

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This section contains 579 words (approx. 2 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample