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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 is Tipu?

2. How many days will the camels have to go without water on the journey to the fair?

3. What is the name of the Muslim feast where camels and goats are sacrificed?

4. Which camel gets a nose peg first?

5. When Shabanu was little her mother bathed her with how much water?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Shabanu feel about her gift from Auntie?

2. Why does Mama worry about Shabanu's future?

3. What do the men traveling to the fair talk about as they sit by the fire with Dadi?

4. What does Shabanu encounter when she hears a camel in distress while tending the herd?

5. What is a nose peg?

6. How does Shabanu show more concern for the camels than for obeying her father?

7. What way to they devise to feed the orphan camel after the other mother camels reject it?

8. What changes does Shabanu notice in Phulan as the wedding draws nearer?

9. Why is Shanbanu's father mad about the loss of the mother camel at first?

10. Why is Shabanu worried about her future?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss the figurative language and imagery used throughout the novel. How effectively is the Pakistani language of the desert woven into the story?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the many cultural elements of the Pakistani nomads that have essential practical uses as well as deep cultural meaning. Begin the discussion with the chadr and include at least two other elements.

Essay Topic 3

What does the character Sharma represent in the story? What advice does she give Shabanu, and what role does that advice play in the choices Shabanu makes?

(see the answer keys)

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