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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. How did Raju's mother describe their animals?

2. How did Raju intervene between Rosie and Marco?

3. What did Raju begin selling in the railway shop?

4. Who entered Raju's father's shop at the beginning of Chapter 2?

5. What nickname did Raju have at the railway?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does Raju decide he has to stay at the temple?

2. Why was Raju given his nickname at the railway?

3. How does the structure of the writing style in Chapter 1 portray the inner workings of the protagonist's mind?

4. How did the progress at the railway affect Raju's father's business?

5. What are Raju's fears when the villagers don't show?

6. What is revealed about Raju's personality by the fact that he asked the school master to teach at the temple?

7. How is education viewed up through Chapter 3 of the novel?

8. What transpired between Raju and Rosie in Chapter 5?

9. How does Raju justify staying on at the temple?

10. What raised Marco's estimation of Raju?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Describe the reaction from the Indian Government to Raju's physical condition through the strike. Given the conditions of the village and the purpose of the strike, what is important about the reaction?

Essay Topic 2

What purpose does it serve for the author to continually switch tense and perspective in the narrative? If the author were to use only one perspective through the entire novel, which would be most effective and why? What information would the reader no longer be privy to if the author followed your suggestion?

Essay Topic 3

Rosie and Raju both approached their affair with different ambitions and desires. What were their desires and how did they differ? How did they change throughout the novel? What could the reader learn about each character and his or her development based on the changing ambitions and desires?

(see the answer keys)

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