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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. Who awakens the narrator by screaming in the courtyard on March 9th?

2. Who does not agree that a suttee is a form of suicide?

3. Who recommended the treatment that Ritu is receiving that makes her scream?

4. Why does Inder Lal tell the narrator that his mother selected Ritu as his wife?

5. What is the relationship between Tessie and Beth?

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe Olivia's feelings about and prior to the dinner party that she and Douglas attend at the Nawab's palace in Section 6.

2. Explain the phrase, "Things get mixed up in India."

3. Why does Douglas accept the Nawab's presence in his home so readily in Section 12?

4. Describe the narrator's clothing and her reasons for choosing them in Section 4.

5. Describe the narrator's first night, and impressions of, Bombay.

6. Are Mrs. Saunders and Olivia similar, based on their first meeting in Section 8?

7. How does Chid treat the people and things in his life?

8. Why does the narrator decide to travel to the town of X in the final chapter?

9. Is the narrator helping Chid when she lets him stay with her in Section 14?

10. What is Satipur like in Section 17?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

In Heat and Dust, the narrator explores the life of a woman who lives in a different era, while living in a culture different from her own. Answer the following questions with these points in mind.

1) Is Ritu's treatment by her husband, mother-in-law and the narrator acceptable? Explain.

2) Why is Olivia's behavior so readily condemned by her English peers?

3) Explain why the old beggar woman who dies in Maji's arms is pivotal to the narrator's journey.

Essay Topic 2

In Heat and Dust, the role of each character adds depth to the message of the novel. Choose 3 characters listed below. For each, examine how the role each one plays, or refuses to play, helps to advance the storyline.

1) The Narrator.

2) Maji.

3) The Nawab.

4) Harry.

5) Chid.

6) Olivia.

Essay Topic 3

Heat and Dust is told from the narrator's first person journal entries and from Olivia's first person accounts in her letters to Marcia.

1) What is gained and lost from the author's use of this perspective for the story?

2) Who else could have told this story and what would the impact of their different viewpoint be?

3) If the narrator did not have Olivia's letters, but had heard of her story through oral accounts, how might the story change?

(see the answer keys)

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