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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 does Omar become after starting to attend the school?

2. What happens to the narrator's poet friend in Karachi by the time Rushdie returns to London?

3. By how many breasts is Omar nourished?

4. What is the immediate result of Mahmoud's announcement that he is showing a double feature to both Hindus and Muslims?

5. How many of the sisters feign pregnancy after their coming-out party?

Short Essay Questions

1. What vice does Omar discern in Farah immediately before hypnotizing her, and how?

2. Why does Raza Hyder stake himself to the ground in Iskander Harappa's yard?

3. According to the opinion of the narrator, why does Eduardo deem that Omar must study to be a doctor?

4. What is guaranteed to the Shakil sisters by the installation of their dumb-waiter?

5. Briefly, what is the generally accepted reason that the husbands in the Hyder family "secretly" visit their wives in common in the night?

6. Describe the end of Bilquis' father's business.

7. What are the circumstances surrounding the death of Mistri Yakoob Balloch?

8. What are the lasting effects of Omar's birthday request upon his mothers?

9. Of what two cultural parts is the town of Q's dumbbell shape composed?

10. How does Raza Hyder describe his courtship of Bilquis?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

In an analytical essay, carefully examine the character and personality of Omar Khayyam Shakil. Take into account all of the relevant details, from the moment and manner of his conception until his violent death. In what ways is he is a peripheral character? How is he in any sense a hero of the story? In what way do his actions, or lack thereof, move the events of the story? In what ways is he significant as a symbolic character? What does his character, in all its exaggerations, demonstrate about universal human nature?

Essay Topic 2

Near the end of the book, Omar's mothers tell him a story about his great-grandfather Hafeezullah and great-grand-uncle Rumi. This story reflexively illuminates another major theme in the story of Shame, the dishonoring of family. In a carefully structured essay, analyze how this story illuminates past events in the book as being dishonorable to one's family. Why do the long-dead brothers treat one another poorly? How is this comparable to the lives of the principal characters in Shame? What does this indicate about Pakistani society as a whole? What is the significance of this sort of behavior to the whole of the story?

Essay Topic 3

In a well-developed and thoughtful analytical essay, consider the character of Iskander Harappa. From millionaire playboy to political poster-boy and eventually hanging corpse, his life goes through many phases and affects many characters. What are his primary character traits? How do these character traits manifest themselves, i.e. in what actions? How does Iskander influence the lives of others? In what ways is his character significant to the primary themes of the story? In what ways is he related to Sufiya Zinobia? How does his interaction with Raza Hyder contribute to unacknowledged national shame?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 965 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample