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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. How did Dr. Christy Wilson help Bilquis?

2. According to Bilquis' epitaph, how did she die?

3. What does "Ji" mean?

4. What did Mahmud say he would do if Bilquis died?

5. What did Bilquis' brother-in-law Jamil tell her she has gained for all her losses?

Short Essay Questions

1. What pressure did the community put upon Bilquis?

2. What did Bilquis discover about her personality through her experience with the children and the plum tree?

3. When Bilquis attended a second family funeral, what did the bereaved wife unexpectedly do?

4. Why did Bilquis say she felt "complete" even though she was leaving her home for an indefinite period and didn't know where she was going?

5. What did Bilquis expect her relatives to do when they learned of her baptism?

6. Who did Bilquis decide to invite to her Christmas party?

7. What situation did Bilquis allow to make the decision about whether to travel to Singapore?

8. What came as a threat to Bilquis' precious afternoon rest?

9. What was wrong with Bilquis' plan to give a Christmas party for her Muslim and Christian friends?

10. Why did Bilquis decide not to replace all of the servants she lost?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Bilquis faces both internal and external conflicts in this story. In your essay, compare and contrast the two types of conflict. Which do you feel is more difficult for her to contend with? Which lasts longer?

Essay Topic 2

In your essay, discuss the differences you see between Bilquis' life as a Pakistani and the life she might have experienced as a Western woman. Use the following questions as the beginning of your thinking: Why does she not drive? Why does she have to ask her servants whether her grandson has eaten? Why does she have to learn from her servants where her family is and what their intentions are toward her? Are these situations governed by cultural mores that are peculiar to her time and place?

Essay Topic 3

Bilquis tells of experiences, such as floating out the window and being shaken from her bed, that are outside normal human experience. In your essay, select one or two of these experiences and give your opinion of these supernatural events. How does she account for them?

(see the answer keys)

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