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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. Whose ghost does Bim claim to have seen in the garden?

2. What does Bakul say to Tara when she decides to stay with her family that morning instead of going with him to New Delhi?

3. How does Tara, in this chapter, remember her parents?

4. What does Bim compare her cat to?

5. What surrounds Tara's family home and those of her neighbors?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does Bim begin to respond to Dr. Biswas and his invitations to take her out?

2. Describe how Bim sees her brother's poems now.

3. Why do the children think of their father as the master of the entrance and the exit?

4. What are some of the basic differences between Tara and Bim? Examine their appearance, their attitudes, their sense of family.

5. Why is Bim's conversation with the elder Misras important to the plot?

6. Why does so much responsibility fall to Bim?

7. Why does Raja leave Bim alone to care for Baba?

8. Why is Raja so upset about the whereabouts of the family of Hyder Ali Sahid?

9. How does Tara feel about her youth? What makes her feel that way?

10. Describe Bim as an adult woman, including her attitude towards her family members as well as her appearance.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Why is Bim so afraid at the last that Tara will take Baba with them to Raja's house?

Essay Topic 2

Read over the poetry lines used by the author in this novel, which are used as a plot device. What was the purpose of each insertion into the story line? Does it work?

Essay Topic 3

Why does Bim tell Tara to ask Raja to come see her and Baba, rather than Bim and Baba traveling to see Raja?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 558 words (approx. 2 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample