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 was interesting about the blond Sadiq picked up at the bar in Istanbul?

2. Whose alleged grave site did Theroux visit in Ceylon?

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

4. What was on the marble slabs at the Galta temple entrance?

5. What profession did Theroux claim to ward off questions in Chapter 7?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

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

4. Describe the city of Teheran as encountered by Theroux in Chapter 4.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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 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

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 1,133 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample