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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. What overcomes Tara when she is at her family home?

2. What did Hyder Ali offer to Raja?

3. When Tara speaks of being young again, what is Bim's reaction?

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

5. What does Bim return with from Hyder Ali Sahib's house?

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe Bakul's appearance and behavior, and discuss his attitude towards his work and towards his wife.

2. Why does Raja refuse to take over the family business?

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

4. What resulted from Raja's admiration of Hyder Ali Sahid?

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

6. How is Old Delhi different from New Delhi? Re-read the parts describing the city and note the words the author uses. Do the words create a sense of place?

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

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

9. Why does so much responsibility fall to Bim?

10. Describe the family home and the feeling you get about it.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Tara is a very sensitive soul. Incidents that seem trivial to others become major events and obstacles for Tara. Why do you think this is? What steps could she take to become stronger and more accepting about life?

Essay Topic 2

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

Essay Topic 3

Choose one of the predominant themes of this novel and explore how the author presented the theme via dialogue, symbolism, characters, etc.

(see the answer keys)

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