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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. Why was Theroux unable to get food at Meshed in Chapter 5?

2. What book was Theroux reading at the beginning of Chapter 10?

3. Where did the Parsis place their dead?

4. What was the approximate population of Ceylon at the time of Chapter 15?

5. What did one American take to deal with the Indian food and water?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

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

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

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

6. Describe the English engineer's (encountered in Chapter 5) experiences with women.

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

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

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

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Throughout many of the countries Theroux visited for the book, there were many brothels and prostitutes available. Was this a unique phenomenon of Asian societies or was the prostitution simply more out in the open than in Western societies? Did prostitution seem more acceptable in the countries visited by Theroux? Did the greater availability to brothels suggest different cultural attitudes toward the world's oldest profession?

Essay Topic 2

In his descriptions of some of the railway stations through which he traveled, Theroux made it clear that many of the stations were ornate and reflected either the culture of the nation or the culture of the former colonial authority. Write an essay outlining how countries use railway station architecture to highlight their unique cultures. Does the effort to incorporate local styles help provide visitors with a better sense and appreciation of the country? What do you think Theroux could have learned from stations without any unique cultural aspects? What impact would homogenization have? Would it make all cultures seem similar?

Essay Topic 3

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?

(see the answer keys)

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