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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. As sheik, Rumi notes that effective leaders need to do what?
(a) Find a spouse who will be a companion and co-leader.
(b) Intimidate the people.
(c) Give in to their purely selfish motives.
(d) Focus on common good and the needs of their people.

2. To Rumi, political governance is not so much about military maneuvers but more about what?
(a) Acquiring wealth and status.
(b) Treating people like little children.
(c) Looking like you know what you're doing.
(d) Creating balance and harmony.

3. In the section called "Solomon Poems," Rumi's poetry makes direct references to:
(a) Judaism and Buddhism.
(b) Islam and Christianity.
(c) Hinduism and Christianity.
(d) Buddhism and Islam.

4. While acknowledging that scriptures can be good, Rumi also notes that too many people:
(a) Are too ignorant to understand them.
(b) Forget to feel with their hearts.
(c) Use scriptures against others.
(d) Get hung up on scriptures.

5. In a poem in Book 2, Chapter 1, after a wise man feeds a poor man, what does he make the poor man do?
(a) Pay him back.
(b) Exercise vigorously.
(c) Take a loaf of bread to his family.
(d) Sleep for three days.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does the least intelligent fish do in the tale of three fish in Book 2, Chapter 1?

2. After the girl whom the king loves gets better in one of the poems in Chapter 2, Book 2, what does the doctor do?

3. In a poem in Chapter 2, Book 2, what does the king discover about himself after the girl he loves receives medical attention?

4. 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:

5. What does Rumi note about the light-giving properties of candles in Book 2, Chapter 3?

Short Essay Questions

1. In one of Rumi's poems, what happens when somebody comes looking for Sheik Kharraqani?

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

3. In the poem where three brothers fall in love with the same woman, describe the person they fall in love with.

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

5. Why does Rumi advise people to let go of scriptures after reading them?

6. 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?

7. What happens to the three brothers who fall in love with a powerful princess?

8. What is the primary moral of the "Town and Country" story?

9. Explain how Rumi uses the idea of Jesus riding a donkey as a metaphor.

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

(see the answer keys)

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