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

Short Answer Questions

1. What is noticeable about the beggar woman that the narrator notices and ends up helping?

2. Who does the narrator believe is the father of the pregnant person she learns about on July 31st?

3. How do the people at the hospital ward react to the narrator after she empties the bed pan of the man in the bed next to Chid?

4. Where do Olivia and Douglas go when they walk together in the evenings?

5. Why is the beggar woman who the narrator brings to the hospital living on the streets?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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 2

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 3

Throughout Heat and Dust, numerous references are made about India and Illness. Locate 3 such references in the novel. Analyze each one for its accuracy based upon the story, the impact this comment has on characters or events, and how the comment impacts the reader's experience of the novel.

(see the answer keys)

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