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This test consists of 5 short answer questions and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What is shocking about the woman the narrator helps?

2. Where does Tariq Mia's curiosity lead him?

3. Why does the elderly woman's daughter agree to perform at an election meeting?

4. The elderly woman's story begins _____ years in the past.

5. Why would the narrator be able to go find Uma and the Naga Baba?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss the narrator's mental limits: what he understands and what disturbs him. Discuss what we are able to learn about the world in "A River Sutra" through his successes and shortcomings.

Essay Topic 2

Several characters attempt suicide in "A River Sutra". Discuss this compulsion amongst characters.

Part 1) Success and failure.

Part 2) Individual situation and reason.

Part 3) A blanket, overall condition with enlightenment.

Essay Topic 3

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

(see the answer keys)

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