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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Who is Kharraqani?
(a) Saint.
(b) Peasant.
(c) Sheik.
(d) Priest.

2. In one of the poems in Chapter 2, Book 2, when the oldest son decides to romantically pursue a Chinese princess, what happens to him?
(a) He's forced to marry her sister instead.
(b) He's imprisoned.
(c) He's captured and never seen again.
(d) He's killed by someone.

3. What does Rumi note about the destructive properties of candles in Book 2, Chapter 3?
(a) They burn images into the mind as easily as they burn hands.
(b) Even in daylight candles can burn cloth.
(c) Too much truth can be revealed by candlelight.
(d) One candle can ruin a whole village.

4. Which of the three fish in the fish story in Book 2, Chapter 1, ends up getting caught?
(a) None.
(b) The least intelligent one.
(c) The one of medium intelligence.
(d) The smartest one.

5. Rumi notes that free choice can be made by men and women who have not been:
(a) Lost at sea.
(b) Beaten in to frightened compliance.
(c) Told they are morons.
(d) Sold into slavery.

Short Answer Questions

1. Analyzing Rumi's poetry can be challenging because it is clear at points and:

2. In each of the love triangles presented in Chapter 2, Book 2, the woman's behavior:

3. In "Town and Country," when the shopkeeper visits his friend in the country, what does the countryside man do?

4. Despite high tension between different religions during his lifetime, Rumi was able to do what?

5. The people who are jealous of a particular man in a poem in Book 2, Chapter 3, do not think they are better than him; rather, they are displeased with:

Short Essay Questions

1. Does Rumi disagree with holy scriptures?

2. How does the story of the king and the girl he loves end?

3. Summarize the shopkeeper's experience in "Town and Country."

4. In one of the stories, a king falls in love with a girl, but she is not aware that he cares for her. How does he get close to her?

5. Summarize the countryside man's experience in "Town and Country."

6. What does King Solomon want from the Queen of Sheba?

7. In the story where the king is in love with a girl, what ailment has afflicted her?

8. Why is jealousy a recurrent theme in Rumi's work?

9. Summarize the folklore Coleman Barks refers to when introducing the poems of Book 2, Chapter 2 to the reader.

10. Instead of doing battle on the military field, what should a good ruler strive for, according to Rumi?

(see the answer keys)

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