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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. When one renounces the world, how long must one fast for?

2. Why does the monk's father regret letting his son live in the West?

3. What is Tariq Mia's purpose in telling this story?

4. Why must the narrator take Nitin back to the guesthouse?

5. What is special about the placement of the guesthouse on the banks of the Narmada River?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does the narrator take the job at the guesthouse?

2. Is the narrator being very egotistical at the beginning of Chapter 14?

3. How does Ashok's father feel about him becoming a monk?

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

5. Are the father's teachings nonsensical?

6. What is India's perception of the West? The West of India?

7. Does Nitin live a charmed life before he moves to the tea estate?

8. How does the woman in the market set up what is to come in Chapter 13?

9. Does the narrator begin to feel more of an authority on the subject of tribal rituals?

10. What is the legend of the battle at the Narmada riverbank?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss the course of change our narrator experiences: stretch from before the beginning of "A River Sutra" to the end, reasons for change, and where we leave him at the end.

Essay Topic 2

Discuss how the Narmada river functions as a character in "A River Sutra".

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the necessity of "understanding" and "renouncing" the world in "A River Sutra".

Part 1) How must one do this? What is to be gained?

Part 2) How does the narrator attempt this? What are his flaws?

(see the answer keys)

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