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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 old is Mrs. Das?

2. What does Shukumar make for dinner the first night the power is out?

3. How many daughters does Mr. Pirzada have?

4. How old is Shoba?

5. Where did Shoba and Shukumar go on their first date?

Short Essay Questions

1. What happens when Lilia returns from trick-or-treating?

2. Why is the electricity being turned off in Shoba and Shukumar's neighborhood in "A Temporary Matter"?

3. What problems do the two new basins purchased by Mr. Dalal cause in Boori Ma's building?

4. What does the power outage remind Shoba of from her childhood?

5. What happens when Shukumar attends an academic conference in Baltimore during Shoba's pregnancy?

6. What devastating secret does Shukumar tell Shoba during the telling game to hurt her?

7. Why does Lilia say a prayer for Mr. Pirzada's family?

8. Why does the Das family tour take a trip into the hills of Udayagiri?

9. What unfortunate incident occurs on the trip to the hills of Udayagiri?

10. What are the rituals Mr. Pirzada follows nightly?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss the different marriages presented in the stories. What aspects of the marriages are due to culture and what aspects transcend culture differences?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss how the narrator in "The Third and Final Continent is an archetype of the male Indian-American immigrant and the irony presented by the dream he has for his son.

Essay Topic 3

Discuss what Lilia's father means when he says: "But what does she learn about the world?" How does the dichotomy of being part of two cultures impart a knowledge that can't be taught in American schools? What view of American learning do you think Lahiri was trying to impart through these stories?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 910 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample