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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. Why does Rama go after the deer in spite of Lakshmana’s warning that it is an illusion?

2. Whose daughter does Ravana marry?

3. How does Surpanakha cause trouble for Rama and Sita?

4. What does Bharata answer when Bharadwaja says that he knows that the king is dead?

5. What does Ravana risk with his desire to steal Sita?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does the Ramayana explain where it has its origin as a poem?

2. Describe Bharadwaja’s feast for Bharata and his party.

3. Why does Kaikeyi ask for Rama to be sent away?

4. How does Hanuman characterize the story of Rama and Sita to Jambavan?

5. When had Kaikeyi almost used her two wishes previously?

6. Describe Bharata’s meeting with Guha.

7. Why does Rama insist on going into the Dandaka Forest, against Sita’s wishes?

8. What was Ravana’s role in the birth of Rama?

9. Describe Sita’s origins, and how she comes to be Rama’s wife.

10. Why does Agastya replace Rama’s bow?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Read another translation of the Ramayana, and compare and contrast William Buck’s edition with the other. How are they similar? How are they different? What makes Buck’s edition unique and valuable? What are its shortcomings compared to the other edition?

Essay Topic 2

Where is the climax of this book? Are there different climaxes? What questions does each climax resolve? What questions does each climax leave unanswered?

Essay Topic 3

What does the Ramayana tell the reader about the relations between men and women, husbands and wives? Using examples from the text, describe the poem’s lessons for relations between the sexes.

(see the answer keys)

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