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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. Which religion's festival was banned in India?

2. What was bunraku?

3. What was the Vietnamese woman doing with the half-American baby on the train through Vietnam?

4. What magazine did the CIA official tell Theroux he wrote for?

5. What Sherlock Holmes story did Theroux allude to in Chapter 19?

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe the Kali religious festival from Chapter 16.

2. What image was brought to mind by the sight of the Japanese workers doing mass calisthenics?

3. Why did Theroux find the Singapore government's prediction of electronic connectedness so disturbing?

4. How did Westerners and Japanese react to the suicide of the Japanese writer, Yukio Mishima?

5. How was the American woman living in Sapporo welcomed into the Japanese fold in the story retold in Chapter 27?

6. Describe Theroux's visit to the tourism office in Vietnam.

7. Who were the American-looking children Theroux saw throughout Vietnam?

8. Why did Theroux describe Bangkok as a city for transients?

9. How did Colonel Tuan believe Vietnamese viewed Americans as the war wound down?

10. Why was the man on the train to Calcutta running away from his girlfriend?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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 2

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 3

In his travels through India, Theroux seemed to be convinced India was doomed to failure in the long run unless the population was brought under control. He had also described in disbelieving terms the family planning officials who themselves had large families. Do you believe Theroux was accurate in his claims? How would reining in population figures help a nation develop economically? Is there a point at which nations cannot cope with a large population or can nations figure out a way to successfully spread wealth despite large numbers?

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