View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. At which of the following is Asha employed?

2. Which drug dealer does Kalu observe?

3. Which of the following does Kalu claim as his main god?

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

5. What is the name of Sunil’s sister?

Short Essay Questions

1. What familial duty does Manju carry out at the wedding in her mother’s hometown?

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

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

4. Why is Navrarti welcomed by the local girls?

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

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

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

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

9. Why does Manju withdraw from Asha?

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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?

Essay Topic 2

To what genre other than creative nonfiction might Behind the Beautiful Forevers be considered to belong? What in the text supports that identification? How does it do so?

Essay Topic 3

To what other writer’s work in your experience does Boo’s seem most similar? What makes the writers similar? What differentiates them? Overall, which do you regard as doing better at the craft of writing, and why?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 556 words (approx. 2 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample