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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 Chand Mohammad sell to Omar?

2. Who comes to Omar's aid when he is overwhelmed by the religious zealots?

3. Who is Raza Hyder's chief adviser when he becomes administrator of the region?

4. With whom does BIlquis go to the movies in Q while Raza is away?

5. Which of the following does Old Man Shakil hate?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

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

4. What effect does voyeurism-by-proxy have on Omar's mothers, and what is possibly the consequence of this effect?

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

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

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

8. In what idea do Raza and Bilquis put an undue amount of faith, and why is this a troublesome belief?

9. What characterizes Bilquis' reaction to the Loo?

10. Why is Raza Hyder sent to the Needle Valley?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

In a thoughtful essay, examine the concept of takallouf. What is the approximate meaning of the word? What are the nuances that make it difficult to translate? What part does the untranslatable word play in the story? How does it move and shape events? Which characters are constrained by it, and how? What is takallouf's significance to the story?

Essay Topic 2

Periodically throughout the story, the fictional Pakistan undergoes periods of military coups and subsequent military rule. In an analytical essay, discuss the possible reasons and significance for this occasional turn to the military. What is sought by a military coup, implicitly or explicitly? What sort of men typically achieve high positions in the military? Why are such mean appealing in a time of instability? How do such men eventually also fall from governmental favor?

Essay Topic 3

Being careful to make the necessary distinctions, write an analytical essay which discusses the significance of the actions of the Beast, as something that resides within but is not Sufiya Zinobia. Which of its actions most significantly impact the story? Why is it an entity that is not Sufiya Zinobia, properly speaking (consider the allegorical significance of Sufiya Zinobia)? Why would it reside within Sufiya Zinobia? What function does the Beast play in the plot of the story? To what actions is the Beast a reaction? Who are its victims, and why?

(see the answer keys)

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