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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. Why doesn't Maa Kamala allow Koly to go to Mala's party?

2. What is true of Sassur after Chandra leaves to get married?

3. What happens to the food in the Mehta household as Sass eats less and less?

4. What does the rickshaw driver tell her about widows in Vrindavan?

5. Where does Koly find Sass when she returns from buying their lunches?

Short Essay Questions

1. Explain why the benefactor funds the widow's home where Koly stays.

2. Describe Koly and Sass's first interaction with the rickshaw driver.

3. Describe Koly's first night in Vrindavan after Sass abandons her.

4. Explain why Sassur stops reading the Tagore book?

5. What happens on the day that Koly sees the rickshaw driver at the train station, before he brings her to the widow's home?

6. Explain how Tagore is important to Koly in Chapter 9.

7. Who is Mala and what is she like?

8. What is the importance of Koly's visit to the government office in Chapter 6?

9. How does the rickshaw driver help Koly in Chapter 8?

10. Describe Chandra's feelings about her marriage in Chapter 7.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Tagore's book of poems is an object of great importance to Koly.

1) Describe how this book helps her find her way to freedom, independence, and happiness.

2) Describe the cost of obtaining this book to Koly.

3) Explain what the Tagore book means to Koly, Sass, and Sassur.

Essay Topic 2

Consider the impact of good health and illness on the plot line of the story. At what points in the novel does the health of a character result in a major change in the direction of the story? Do any of the characters have choices in the occurrence or in the direction that their lives took at this point? Explain why or why not. Is health or financial status more important to the outcomes of the lives of the characters in this novel? Explain.

Essay Topic 3

Imagine that Hari had recovered and lived.

1)What would Koly's life have been like then?

2) Would she be happy living with the Mehtas?

3) Would Hari have been a good husband?

4) Would Sass be any more kind-hearted if her son had not died?

(see the answer keys)

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