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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. Which of the following does Rushdie call “The first great writer I knew” (158)?

2. Which of the following dystopian authors does Rushdie reference?

3. Which of the following does Rushdie note is a friend of his?

4. Which essay does Rushdie note was removed from the Delhi University curriculum?

5. In what year does Saligia first appear in writing?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Rushdie note caused the characters drawn from his biography to come alive?

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

3. What does Rushdie call the most ancient question (180)?

4. How does Rushdie propose readers fight against censorship and artistic repression?

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

6. How does Rushdie describe Slothrop?

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

8. Why does Rushdie posit that the United States tolerates Pakistan’s quiet hosting of terrorist groups and figures?

9. For what reason was Sunflower Seeds cordoned off from the public?

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Readerly attention focuses on the following passage: “I believe that the books and stories we fall in love with make us who we are, or, not to claim too much, that the act of falling in love with a book or story changes us in some way, and the beloved tale becomes a part of our picture of the world, a part of the way in which we understand things and make judgements and choices in our daily lives” (3). Does the passage bear out? What in the anthology and in your experience suggests as much? How does it do so?

Essay Topic 2

In “Heraclitus,” Rushdie asserts “These are the four roots of the self: language, place, community, custom” (58). Does your experience bear out the assertion? How or how not?

Essay Topic 3

Overall, what is the most important theme of Languages of Truth. What in the text indicates as much? How does it do so?

(see the answer keys)

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