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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. What cures possession, in the doctor's opinion?

2. What does the monk claim he will gain from enduring the trials of being a monk?

3. In the monk's story, when his chariot is being swarmed, what is the fear in his father's eyes?

4. As the narrator looks at the river one morning, who does the narrator imagine he may see floating in it one day?

5. The Jain monk observes that although his father gives to charity, he doesn't ______ poverty.

Short Essay Questions

1. Why is the Jain monk's only love the human heart?

2. How is our narrator similar to the Jain monk? What is he lacking to be truly like him?

3. Why is "endurance" a necessary part of a pilgrimage to the Narmada?

4. What is the narrator's dilemma with bringing Nitin back to the guesthouse after he's released from the hospital.

5. What are the father's philosophies on music?

6. Why does Master Mohan kill himself?

7. How are courtesans meant to interact with noblemen?

8. How important are material goods to the people that Naga Baba blesses?

9. Is the narrator obsessive compulsive?

10. Are any of the daughter's shortcomings correctable?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Based on the various and vastly different accounts and interpretations of "enlightenment" in "A River Sutra", discuss what it means as a whole to the book.

Essay Topic 2

What does the story of the Naga Baba offer to the book as a whole?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the use of music around the Narmada in "A River Sutra".

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This section contains 737 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample