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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 Khayyam take to eating while sitting alone in the attic of Raza Hyder's house?

2. How many shawls does Rani embroider during her house arrest?

3. For what Western publication does Haroun Harappa write an article detailing his father's illicit behavior in Pakistan?

4. On what does Iskander Harappa feed, as his daughter Arjumand realizes at age 23?

5. From what physical malady is Iskander Harappa suffering immediately before he is arrested by the military coup?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does the Pakistani man in London, referred to by the narrator at the beginning of Chapter 7, murder his own daughter?

2. How does Iskander Harappa rise to power?

3. What two phrases constitute the motto of Raza's regime?

4. Why does Captain Talvar Ulhaq take great risk to steal Naveed Hyder from her arranged marriage to Haroun Harappa?

5. How do Raza and Omar disagree when it comes to dealing with Sufiya Zinobia's condition?

6. Why does the Pakistani government intercept and destroy all incoming copies of a particular issue of Newsweek?

7. What is the consequence of Maulana Dawood's quest against the selling and eating of shellfish in Karachi?

8. What is the nature of the relationship between Omar Khayyam Shakil and Shahbanou?

9. How does Iskander Harappa bring his fate down upon his head after being arrested and imprisoned in Bagheeragali?

10. Why does the narrator include the anecdote about seeing a London performance of Danton's Death?

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

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

Write a thoughtful analytical essay on the character of Rani Humayun Harappa. As one of the prominent female characters in the story, her actions and character are very important for discerning the significance of the story. In what ways is Rani significant? How does she impact the plot of the story, if at all? What is the significance of her impact, if she has any, and even if she does not? What particular actions demonstrate to the reader the character of Rani? Is she a virtuous character? Defend your answers with explicit references to the text.

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