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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. Who was *president* of PEN America in 2004?

2. To which of the following does Rushdie compare Vyasa?

3. As which of the following did Hitchens address Mos Def?

4. In the context of discussing Muhammad Ali, the word “hagiography” most nearly means which of the following?

5. Who is known as the “Mama of Dada” (176)?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Rushdie define the “given” with which authors must contend?

2. What does Rushdie note as a reason the interviews in the Paris Review are worth attention?

3. What choice does Rushdie note is required to produce Othello?

4. How does Rushdie describe Slothrop?

5. Paraphrase the remark by EB White about writing to children that Rushdie reports.

6. Why does Rushdie argue that the Hinduism of the BJP is not true Hinduism?

7. How does Rushdie define adaptation?

8. To what does Rushdie ascribe the closeness of his friendship with Christopher Hitchens?

9. What does Rushdie note is the right answer to give when asked about autobiographical fiction?

10. How does Rushdie explain the American preoccupation with religion?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Rushdie himself raises the question of the appropriateness of biographical criticism. How apt is it to the anthology? What in the anthology indicates as much, and how does it do so?

Essay Topic 2

To what other writer’s work in your experience does Rushdie’s seem most similar? What makes the writers similar? What differentiates them? Overall, which do you regard as doing better at the craft of writing, and why?

Essay Topic 3

What does Rushdie gain from commending the works of other writers? That is, what effect is created by his doing so, and how does it work to the advantage of the anthology?

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This section contains 569 words (approx. 2 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample