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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. What percent of the Indian population are Gorkhas?

2. How did people respond to his English manners when the judge first returned from England?

3. In his second year abroad, why does the wife of Biju's boss give him toiletries?

4. What does Lola believe about the Nepalese?

5. The first time Biju runs into Saeed after the closing of the bakery, what type of girl has Saeed married?

Short Essay Questions

1. In chapter 28, how does Jemu's family's reaction to him upon his return from England contrast with his expectations?

2. How does Sai's having attended a Catholic school impact her identity in terms of the people around her?

3. What is the significance of the elaborate Christmas celebration in chapter 25?

4. In chapter 21, how do Noni and Lola's views of the Nepalese liberation movement differ?

5. Why is the judge so critical of Gyan in chapter 18?

6. In chapter 24, how does Harish-Harry's comments about his workers contrast with the way he treats them?

7. In chapter 3, why doesn't Bijou consider himself a man?

8. In chapter 29, how does Gyan begin to view Sai?

9. In chapter 11, what do we learn about Indian servants' preferences for employers?

10. In chapter 8, why is Jemu so determined to reject his father's traditional Indian customs by refusing to throw the coconut overboard?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Do Sai and Gyan's recognition of a common ancestral connection to the British bring them closer together, push them farther apart, or do both at different times? Are these similarities equally important to Sai and Gyan? Why are their connections to the British so important, so troublesome, or both?

Essay Topic 2

The judge tells Bose that he believes the present changes the past. Explain what you think he means by this. How does this apply to the judge's past experiences in particular? Do you agree with this assertion in a general sense, or do you believe that the past remains unchanged regardless of what happens later? Explain your reasoning.

Essay Topic 3

The judge and Biju are both victims of very different types of Indian tokenization while they are abroad. The judge is allowed to join the ICS only because they want more Indian members. Biju is not permitted to apply for a green card only because he is an Indian, and there are too many Indians who want one. How is each character ultimately affected by the knowledge that he is being categorized solely on the basis of his ethnicity? Does the judge see his experience as good luck and Biju see his as bad? How do these experiences relate to the two characters' feelings about their Indian identity? How do the experiences affect their character development later on?

(see the answer keys)

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