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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. How is the Supreme Court split on Iskander Harappa's death sentence?

2. With what phrase does Sufiya Zinobia respond to the bridal advice given to her by her mother on the eve of her wedding?

3. Who does the ghost of Iskander Harappa quote to Raza Hyder?

4. After the coup, Raza Hyder appears on television and promises that there will be free elections within how many days?

5. For what does the delusional Maulana Dawood dress after arriving in the new capital city?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. How does Arjumand Harappa choose to remember her father?

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

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

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

6. How does Iskander Harappa rise to power?

7. Why, in the opinion of Omar Khayyam Shakil, does Sufiya Zinobia become intensely ill?

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

9. How does Raza Hyder restore the morale of the deflated Pakistani army?

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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?

Essay Topic 2

Compose an analytical essay that fully develops the role of women in the Pakistani society as it is portrayed in Salman Rushdie's Shame. How are they viewed as a whole? What particular roles do individual women fulfill within society? What are some examples of this from the story? In what ways are they abused or neglected? In what ways do the women of the novel nonetheless shape the course of events? What is the ultimate result of women consistently being pushed to the periphery of events by their domineering male counterparts?

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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