View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. At the end of Chapter 18, how many migrants jump overboard?

2. In Chapter 15, who is assigned to row the captain ashore?

3. In Chapter 13, what does Paulette remember that Mr. Burnham wanted her to beat him with?

4. Where does Mr. Burnham believe that Zachary should stay in Chapter 13?

5. What type of soup is served at the Burnham dinner in Chapter 11?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does Chillingworth not wish to fight the Chinese?

2. What does the captain tell the migrants as they head out to sea?

3. Where does Mr. Burnham want Zachary to stay in Chapter 13, and where does Zachary stay and why?

4. How does Paulette disguise herself to travel with the migrants?

5. How does Neel survive when the Ibis sails past Rashkhali?

6. What does Neel's cellmate look like when Neel meets him in Chapter 14?

7. In Chapter 15, who does Paulette ask to help her?

8. What are bores?

9. What sentence does Neel receive at court?

10. Why did Nob Kissin suggest to Burnham how to bring down Neel?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

In India people are divided into castes by birth and socioeconomic status. How are characters divided by caste in the novel? How does being on the Ibis loosen the restraints of caste and class?

Essay Topic 2

Baboo Nob Kissin grew up in a temple and was educated to succeed his uncle as the temple’s custodian. How did Nob Kissin’s life change when his uncle died? How does his life change again when he hears Zachary play a flute? How do these changes cause Nob Kissin to transform by the end of the novel?

Essay Topic 3

The author uses personification to describe the Ibis. In what ways is the ship personified? How does referring to the ship as a person give it power? What does the ship symbolize?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 830 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample