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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 game did Theroux want to play at the Pakistani club in Chapter 7?

2. Why was the Canadian couple going to Australia?

3. What term did the civil servant use to describe a holy man in Chapter 9?

4. What was the name of the mountain pass between Pakistan and Afghanistan?

5. What was the translation of the Turkish dish imam bayildi?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

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

4. Why were the Ceylonese showing so much devotion to St. Jude?

5. What was Molesworth's attitude toward tourism?

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

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

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

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

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

In Japan, Theroux found the Japanese had some robotic qualities (automatically waiting in lines everywhere, doing group calisthenics at the office, etc.). Did that seem like a fair portrayal? What do you think caused the Japanese to behave in this manner? Do you think they had always been like that or had their history played a role in shaping their modern-day attitudes?

Essay Topic 2

Theroux opened the book with a description of his childhood love of trains. What was it about trains, as opposed to other forms of transportation, that fascinated him so much? Why did he choose to travel by train through Asia? Would he have had the same rich experiences he had by train if he had instead flown from city to city in Asia? Would he have met the same people and had the same fascinating conversations?

Essay Topic 3

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?

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