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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. In what month is Ira married?
(a) October.
(b) June.
(c) April.
(d) August.

2. What do the Arjun and Thambi do with their wages each week?
(a) They save their wages for Ira's dowry.
(b) The give their wages to Rukmani.
(c) They spend it in the local tavern.
(d) They waste it gambling.

3. When Arjun and Thambi leave for Ceylon, what is Rukmani afraid of?
(a) That they will marry without her blessing.
(b) Never seeing her sons again.
(c) The perils they will face on their journey.
(d) The working conditions they will see.

4. What do Rukmani and her mother do whenever Rukmani travels back to her childhood home?
(a) Visit with the neighbors.
(b) Visit the temple to pray.
(c) Laugh about Rukmani's earlier exploits.
(d) Complain about Rukmani's living conditions.

5. Which of Rukmani's sons always has a book or two nearby and has learned to read and write to a far greater level that what his mother taught him?
(a) Thambi.
(b) Irawaddy.
(c) Arjun.
(d) Selvam.

Short Answer Questions

1. Nathan hangs a garland of mango leaves across the doorway to welcome Rukmani to her new house. What do the mango leaves symbolize?

2. Arjun and Thambi leave the village to work in Ceylon. Where are they working?

3. After her mother dies, the doctor asks Rukmani what is wrong. What does Rukmani reveal to the doctor?

4. How far have the construction workers traveled to reach the village?

5. At the beginning of Chapter 5, what does Kenny do for the first time?

Short Essay Questions

1. At the beginning of Chapter 2, Nathan becomes angry with Rukmani for the first time ever. Why?

2. What does the doctor tell Rukmani and Nathan about Murugan?

3. Is the strike successful? Why or why not?

4. What does the land contract state will happen if Nathan cannot pay the rent?

5. In Chapter 5 during one of Kenny's visits, he notices that Rukmani is still breast-feeding her three-year-old son. Why?

6. Why does Rukmani feel ashamed after learning from the three women at the river about her new home?

7. When Arjun and Thambi return home from the tannery after Rukmani and Nathan could not find them for lunch, what do Rukmani and Nathan learn about the day's trouble?

8. How does Rukmani learn that there is trouble at the tannery?

9. Chapter 3 opens with the village women insisting Rukmani not worry about something. What is she worried about and why?

10. In Chapter 14, why does Rukmani give Kunthi what she has demanded?

(see the answer keys)

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