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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 English novelist once wrote, "The journey is the goal"?

2. How did Theroux know he had touched bottom while traveling by train?

3. Who built the jail in Kabul in 1626?

4. On what Victoria station platform did Theroux depart on his trip?

5. Why was the Canadian couple going to Australia?

Short Essay Questions

1. What was Molesworth's attitude toward tourism?

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

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

4. Why did Duffill appear to be so mysterious to Theroux?

5. Describe Mr. Gopal, the embassy liaison man showing the tourist sites to Theroux in Chapter 11.

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

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

8. Why did Theroux think the Orient Express was used as the setting for many stories of criminal intrigues?

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

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Many of the religious processions and festivals observed by Theroux appeared to be much more colorful, exuberant, bloody (in some cases), and well-attended than religious activities in Western countries. Do you think people in poorer parts of the world pay closer attention to religion? On the flip side, do cultures tend to drift away from religious ritual as they become more prosperous? Is the change inevitable? Did the profound dedication to religious faith in poor countries that Theroux witnessed offer any important insights into those cultures?

Essay Topic 2

Theroux described a sense of violence and tribal lawlessness in Afghanistan in the 1970s. In what way did the tribal differences inhibit the development of a peaceful society? Referring to the time Theroux visited Afghanistan, did it appear that outsiders (e.g., the Soviets and the Pakistanis) were manipulating the tribal differences to sow discord? Why was the nation facing a possible war with Pakistan? Was Theroux risking too much by traveling through the country?

Essay Topic 3

While most of the trains boarded by Theroux were rather slow and, in many cases old, some of the trains he rode in Japan were extremely fast. As a result, he felt he did not have rich experiences. Did the speed of the trains interfere with his ability to have revealing conversations with others? Or was some of that due to the Japanese character? How would slower trains facilitate conversation?

(see the answer keys)

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