View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Which is NOT a reason that Lakshmi gives for wanting a home of her own?
(a) To have a place to care for her elderly parents.
(b) To have a place of her own.
(c) To have Western plumbing.
(d) To raise a family.

2. What book does Radah read aloud, in impressive English?
(a) Little Women.
(b) Gulliver's Travels.
(c) Jane Eyre.
(d) Wuthering Heights.

3. Why did the elder Mrs. Harris stay on in India after her husband died?
(a) She could not live well in England on her deceased husband’s pension.
(b) Her daughter-in-law was pregnant, and she did not want to leave her alone.
(c) She had fallen in love with the country and its people.
(d) She was too nervous to travel all the way back to Britain.

4. What changed everything and changed nothing, according to Part One?
(a) Intelligence.
(b) Bravery.
(c) Independence.
(d) Love.

5. How old is Radha at the start of the book?
(a) 15 years old.
(b) 30 years old.
(c) 10 years old.
(d) 13 years old.

Short Answer Questions

1. Since what time had the pedestrian walkways of the old Pink City had become narrower, crowded as they were on both sides with tiny, makeshift shops, sometimes with nothing more than an old sari or canvas cloth tenting them?

2. Why is Ravi home from boarding school?

3. What does the Ashoka lion represent?

4. What act do women, in particular, do as a sign of respect in Indian culture?

5. At the henna party for the girls, how does Sheela make fun of Neeta?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why has shame befallen Lakshmi’s and Radha’s family, based on information given in the Prologue?

2. Why is wealth and gaining wealth so important to Lakshmi?

3. Why did the women of the upper caste choose Lakshmi over the women of the Shudra caste?

4. How is Lakshmi a fallen woman in the eyes of her ladies?

5. Why does Lakshmi ask Radha to make the henna paste?

6. What deal does Parvati offer Lakshmi regarding the match between Ravi and Sheela?

7. Describe Sheela Sharma and Ravi Singh. How are they alike? What evidence from the story supports this?

8. Describe Lakshmi’s mosaic tile floor.

9. What is the purpose of Lakshmi’s tiffin?

10. Why does Lakshmi help women have abortions?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,115 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample