View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What Dickens book was Theroux reading in Chapter 3?

2. How did the Tamils clean their teeth on the train in Chapter 12?

3. Where did many of the dentists in Simla come from?

4. What railway line did Theroux grow up near?

5. To which country was Sadiq going to bring Turkish workers?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is the primary lesson about India's future that Theroux took from his nighttime wanderings around Bombay?

2. What were Theroux's impressions of the alleged tombs of Cain and Abel?

3. What were Theroux's impressions of the Pakistani city of Peshawar?

4. How did Theroux describe the Australians he encountered on the trains?

5. Describe the Tamils as encountered by Theroux in Chapter 12.

6. Why was Theroux unwilling to explain his first impressions of India to Vishnua Bhardwaj, the Accountant General on the train to Simla?

7. Describe the special requirements and characteristics of the Sikh religion outlined by Theroux in Chapter 8.

8. How had Afghanistan changed since the military coup of 1973?

9. Describe the American hippies encountered by Theroux on the Turkish railway.

10. Why was the destruction of the coral reefs a perfect example of the improvidence of the Ceylonese?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The hippies seen on the trains throughout Turkey kept to themselves for the most part, not interacting with the Turkish people on board. Did Theroux think they were not experiencing authentic culture? How were Theroux's experiences in Turkey richer than those of the hippies? Do you think Theroux would have met the people he met in Turkey if he had stayed in cars with mostly Americans? Do you think the hippies were having a rich experience in Asia? How do you think Theroux felt about their apparent attitude toward the locals?

Essay Topic 2

In Vietnam, Theroux wrote that his impression of American involvement had been doomed because we had no intention of staying. Therefore, we never developed a vision of what kind of nation we would leave behind, and the Vietnamese emerged damaged and abandoned. Do you believe the U.S. could have achieved its objectives had we remained in the country for a longer period of time? What responsibility did Theroux suggest a nation had to stay and rebuild another nation after involving itself in a military mission?

Essay Topic 3

In contrast to his discussions with the Bangladeshi family planning experts, Theroux discovered that in the Soviet Union, efforts were underway to increase the population due to a declining birth rate. Many European nations today are experiencing declining birth rates, while poorer countries in Asia and Africa are expanding rapidly. How do nations determine what is an appropriate or manageable population? Is it possible to control how individuals plan their families? Why do poor nations have such high birth rates while nations that can better afford to feed and house their populations have low birth rates? Which comes first--poverty or high birth rates?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,109 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample