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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 title does Gupta have?

2. Where is Bobby's wife from?

3. What does the idol of Kali stand on?

4. What is bobby most impressed by when he first gets to Calcutta?

5. What does Amrita do for Bobby on the way from the airport to the hotel?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why is Bobby planning to go to India?

2. Where did Amrita grow up?

3. What does Bobby give money to Muktananandaji for?

4. How do Indians dispose of the bodies of dead animals and humans?

5. Where does Sanjay go to get his dead body?

6. What happens after the six initiates draw straws?

7. What does Krishna reprimand Bobby for, and why?

8. What is Amrita doing while discussing the trip with Bobby the night before they leave?

9. What does Abe say is different about the recent postings of an Indian poet?

10. Why was Abe in Calcutta once before?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

This book takes place in a few different settings. Describe some of these settings and how they affected the course of the plot. Why might Simmons have chosen these particular places for this plot to take place?

Essay Topic 2

Many different characters in this book were persuaded to do things that they would not have done of their own accord? What are some of these instances, and how did persuasion affect the course of the plot?

Essay Topic 3

Shame and propriety are common themes throughout this book. What are some of the instances where these themes are present, and why are they so important to the characters involved?

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