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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 baseball player was the focus of articles in the English-language paper in Teheran?

2. What crop did the people of Pakhtoonistan hope to derive income from after declaring their independence from Pakistan?

3. Where did the Parsis place their dead?

4. Why was Theroux disappointed when the train arrived at Lake Van in Chapter 3?

5. Why was the Canadian couple going to Australia?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. What was Theroux's reaction to the German drug addict he met in India in Chapter 8?

3. Why did Theroux have an early childhood fascination with train travel?

4. In Theroux's view, how did the strictures of Islam affect Pakistani men?

5. Why did Paramahansa Yogananda, the guru followed by Mr. Gupta in Chapter 9, go to America?

6. What was Molesworth's attitude toward tourism?

7. Why did Theroux find it insane that people were attending an American literature conference in Ceylon?

8. What was the Indian professor's view of Mr. Gopal's ignorance?

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

10. Why was Theroux fascinated by the taxi driver's offer of a prostitute in the Bay of Bengal?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Theroux visited what were declared to be the tombs of Cain and Abel while traveling through Ceylon. The country was in dire straits when Theroux traveled through and continued to have significant problems. What was the significance of the location of the alleged tombs of Cain and Abel? Does the fact that the "first murderer" was buried in Ceylon say anything about the country's likely fate? Do you think that the Ceylonese (who showed signs of religious devotion) viewed the tombs as somehow significant in terms of their condition? Did the decrepit condition of the tombs indicate a desire to suppress the tradition that this was the burial place of Cain and Abel?

Essay Topic 2

In his travels through Japan, Theroux found the Japanese had a fondness for violent pornography and attributed this to the fact that the Japanese were overworked and too tried to think about actually having sex. Do you think this is an accurate assumption? What historical experiences or social traditions could encourage an acceptance of violent pornography? Does this attraction provide any deep insight into the Japanese character? Unlike in some of the traditional societies visited by Theroux, Japan seemed open to the idea of women working. Did the obsession with pornography say anything about relations between men and women in Japan?

Essay Topic 3

In many of the Muslim areas traveled by Theroux, there was very little or non-existent public interaction between men and women. How do you think this lack of interaction helped or hindered the nations he traveled through? How do you think it affected the workforce? Is it possible to have both male and female workforces when they have to be separated? What impact did the lack of visible women have on the cultures seen in the book? Would having more women in visible roles have an impact on the society and, if so, how?

(see the answer keys)

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