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This test consists of 5 short answer questions and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What is different about Chid when he returns on August 15th?

2. How often and when does the narrator see Chid in Section 31?

3. Why does Olivia ask Harry to do her the favor in Section 32?

4. What is true of Maji?

5. What does the narrator do when she first wonders if the beggar woman she sees in Section 23 is dead?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Select two characters from the story that have different perspectives of the same event. Write two letters, one from each character addressed to the other, describing their event and what happened. For example, you might use Douglas and the Nawab's account of Olivia's pregnancy, Chid and Inder Lal's perceptions of the narrator's journey, or Dr. Saunders' and the Begum's perception of Olivia's abortion.

Essay Topic 2

Throughout Heat and Dust, the narrator discovers negative traits about Olivia, yet this only seems to fuel her desire to discover more about this intriguing woman.

1) Compare and contrast the things that motivate Olivia and the narrator.

2) Explain how positive and negative traits in the narrator inspire her to learn about Olivia.

3) Explain how Olivia's decisions impact the narrator's decisions.

Essay Topic 3

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.

(see the answer keys)

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