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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 is noted as among Bill’s favorite dishes?

2. With which of the following groups is Seema associated?

3. Approximately how many years does the novel note have passed since Seema, Tahera, and Nafeesa were all together?

4. Which of Keats’s poems does Tahera favor?

5. On what day does Bill learn Seema is pregnant?

Short Essay Questions

1. What reason does Seema posit that Nafeesa cooks for her and Tahera, despite her imprecations?

2. Tahera rebukes herself for a thought she has on the evening she arrives in San Francisco; what is that thought?

3. How does Nafeesa prepare special chai for her daughters?

4. What reasons does Seema have for lying long abed the morning after Tahera arrives in San Francisco?

5. When Seema visits Bill at the home they had shared, she notes attempting to conceal her arrival. How does she make the attempt, and why ?

6. To what kitchen tasks does Tahera put Amina?

7. How does Leigh first become aware of Seema?

8. How does Tahera prepare her family for her trip to San Francisco?

9. How does Nafeesa contrast San Francisco with Chennai?

10. For what reason does Tahera refuse to eat the chicken served on the day she arrives in San Francisco?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

In the novel, some characters are given but one name, while others are given first- and surnames, and still others are accorded names and titles. What significance, if any, accrues to patterns of naming in the novel? If no significance accrues, what purpose might be served by the patterns of naming in the novel? How does Radiant Fugitives bear as much out?

Essay Topic 2

To what genre other than literary fiction might Radiant Fugitives be considered to belong? What in the text supports that identification? How does it do so?

Essay Topic 3

Sources attest to the presence of Radiant Fugitives on bestseller lists. Assuming that sales figures reflect popularity, what accounts for the popularity of the novel? How does it do so?

(see the answer keys)

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