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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 topic do Olivia and Douglas start to discuss during her growing friendship with the Nawab?

2. How does the narrator describe Chid?

3. What does the palace watchman give to the narrator?

4. Why is Ritu sent on a pilgrimage?

5. Who visits Olivia four days after she and Douglas attend their first dinner party at the palace?

Short Essay Questions

1. Explain how the narrator's sleep is interrupted in Section 10.

2. Describe Chid's appearance when the narrator finds him in the royal tomb.

3. What do Douglas and the Nawab represent in Section 16?

4. Why does Inder Lal's mother take Ritu on the pilgrimage?

5. What kind of a person is Chid when the narrator first meets him in Section 7?

6. Describe the behavior and actions of the midwives during Olivia's abortion.

7. Compare Chid's letters in Section 21 to Olivia's letters.

8. Describe Chid's health in Section 30.

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

10. Why does Olivia write to Marcia in Section 16?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Analyze the roles of tradition and symbolism in Heat and Dust. Be sure to explain how the examples you give helped or hindered the people involved, why they chose to participate in acts or events, and why the symbols or symbolic acts or traditions were meaningful to the plot and storyline.

Essay Topic 2

At the end of Heat and Dust the narrator keeps her child and heads off to live on the mountainside. Explain the changes that she has experienced that allow her to make this move and these decisions at this point in her life. Consider the theme of appearance versus reality, the power of choice, and the ability to change in your answer.

Essay Topic 3

Consider the role of faith in Heat and Dust. Select one of the questions to analyze.

1) How does the narrator's faith or lack of faith impact her experiences and expectations in this story?

2) How does the narrator's faith in herself or in others change the direction of the novel at an important point or points?

3) Which character in the story has the strongest faith? The weakest?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,022 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample