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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. Which military man arrives to arrest Iskander Harappa when the coup is pulled off?

2. Which ignominious title does Haroun Harappa receive from the Hyder women preparing Naveed for her wedding?

3. At what age does Arjumand Harappa learn self-defense?

4. Whose cadaver is prominently depicted on the last of Rani's shawls?

5. How many of Atiyah's turkeys does Sufiya Zinobia slaughter with her bare hands?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is revealed by Rani Harappa's uncovering of the deceased Iskander's face?

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

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

4. What becomes of Bilquis in her latter years?

5. How do the 18 shawls embroidered by Rani over the six years of home imprisonment depict the life of Iskander Harappa?

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

7. What change takes place in Iskander Harappa at the age of 40, and why?

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

9. What ethereal conflict besets the mind of Raza Hyder during his presidency?

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

As a prominent female figure, Bilquis Hyder, always first hand to experience instability, reveals much about the position of women in Pakistani society as it is portrayed in Shame. How do the various positions into which Bilquis is put and the various attitudes she adopts throughout her life demonstrate the role of Pakistani women? What is significant about her physical appearance? What is significant about the manner in which she clothes herself throughout the story? What is significant about the inverted manner in which she is gradually clothed throughout her married life? What is her overall significance to the story?

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

Develop a character analysis of Maulana Dawood in an analytical essay on the archetypal religious zealot. In what ways does Maulana Dawood contrast with the rest of the characters in the story? Do his positions and arguments seem reasonable, or are they mere rantings of a fanatic? Are any of Dawood's objections, arguments, or opinions valid even when and if they are not fully reasonable? How do his actions and opinions influence others in the story (consider characters in addition to Raza Hyder)? What is his ultimate significance to the whole of the story?

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