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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 is the name of the house Nanda lives in in Kasauli?

2. What creature does Raka observe at the start of Part II, Chapter 5?

3. Ram Lal tells Raka in Part II, Chapter 3 to avoid the factory at night because of what creatures, which come out at night?

4. Which former residents of Carignano planted carnations and a yellow rose creeper, which was still there when Nanda moved in?

5. Which former resident of Carignano “poked a fork into her cook’s neck when he was choking on a mutton bone in the belief it would make an aperture for him to breathe through” (9)?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does Nanda send Ram Lal to the taxi stand to meet Raka when she first arrives rather than going herself?

2. In Chapter 1, why does Nanda Kaul hope the postman does not stop at her house?

3. In Part I, Chapter 9, when Nanda is feeling uneasy about Raka’s visit, what does she discuss with Ram Lal?

4. How does Nanda feel about the hoopoe nest outside her window?

5. How does Nanda feel about Carignano compared to the Vice Chancellor’s house?

6. Though Raka has heard of the beauty of the Himalayas she is surprised nobody ever told her of the factory she sees from her window. What is the factory called and what does Ram Lal tell Raka about it?

7. What does Ram Lal tell Raka about the snake she tells him she saw in Part II, Chapter 6?

8. What has Nanda been doing for one hour each day, even when she lived at the Vice Chancellor’s?

9. Where does Raka find herself instead of at the Carignano garden when she is on one of her adventures in Part II, Chapter 5?

10. What about Ram Lal and the postman’s walk up the hill irritates Nanda?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Analyze the genre choice for Fire on the Mountain. Why did Anita Desai choose to write this fictional narrative and would it have been as or more effective written as non-fiction or memoir?

Essay Topic 2

Write an essay discussing the author’s narrative tone and writing style. Use direct examples from the text to support your argument.

Essay Topic 3

Write an essay analyzing the ending of Fire on the Mountain. What are the two significant events that occur and how will they affect Nanda?

(see the answer keys)

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