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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's 12th birthday request do to his mothers?

2. After whom does the narrator name the hero of his story?

3. What happens to Mistri Yakoob Balloch after his deal is made with the sisters?

4. What is the name of the servant whom Raza punches in the yard of Iskander's estate?

5. Why does Omar strictly limit his sleep at night?

Short Essay Questions

1. What characterizes Farah Zoroaster's life in Q after returning from her forced marriage to Eduardo Rodrigues?

2. How does Omar Khayyam describe himself to Iskander Harappa, as described at the end of Chapter 1?

3. What are the important nuances of the word "sharam" that are not carried over into the English "shame"?

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

5. Why does the narrator appropriate the story of his friend, the poet?

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

7. How is Bilquis' father's business ruined?

8. How is Omar initially greeted upon his exiting Nishapur?

9. Why is Raza Hyder's military victory so greatly lauded throughout Pakistan?

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

A major theme of the story is the overall instability of Pakistani society as it is represented. This overall instability is reflected in various ways, both macrocosmic (in nature) and microcosmic (in individuals). Examine these reflections in a considerate essay. What are the macrocosmic reflections of instability? What are the microcosmic reflections? Is the overall situation of instability constructed by the individual situations of instability? If so, how? Is the country unstable just as it is explicitly portrayed, or in any other fashions? What individual decisions and actions create the ostensible aspects of the country's instability?

Essay Topic 2

One of the most important connotations of sharam that is emphasized in Shame is the concept of modesty. Throughout the story, this concept plays an important role in shaping the behavior and attitudes of characters. In a well-developed analytical essay, discuss the various situations in which modesty plays an important role. Which characters adopt attitudes of modesty? How does a lack of modesty negatively effect some characters, and which are effected by it? What does the nuance of modesty carry that distinguishes it from other aspects of shame? What is modesty's role in the main theme of shame?

Essay Topic 3

In a well-structured essay, analyze the actions and motivations of the Shakil Sisters. Although they appear in only a few chapters of the book, they nonetheless play a vital role which shapes events throughout the book. Demonstrate how this is so and what they accomplish. What characters do they influence, and how does that influence further influence other characters? How does everything come full circle to them? In what manner does their life begin, and how does it end? What does the circuity of the story's plot reveal about the Shakil Sisters?

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