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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. Who is Harish-Harry?

2. When the bakery closes, how does Biju's separation from Saeed affect him?

3. Where in New York is Brigitte's restaurant located?

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

5. What do Noni and Lola give as Christmas gifts?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why is Jemu's reaction to his wife's going through his things in chapter 28 so severe that he rapes her?

2. How is the judge's house like the judge himself?

3. In chapter 4, why do Sai and the cook justify the manner in which the police treated the cook?

4. In chapter 9, in what way is Lola portrayed as a hypocrite?

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

6. What does the first chapter reveal about the social structures that exist between the introductory characters?

7. As described in chapter 12, what is the difference between the effects of Catholic school on Sai and Noni?

8. In chapter 22, what does it tell us about Biju when he leaves his job at Brigitte's and begins working at the Ghandi Cafe?

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

10. What miscommunication exists between Biju and the cook in chapter 15?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Biju and the judge were both sent away by their fathers in order to have a better life. Compare and contrast the two characters' experiences abroad, and how they ultimately affected each character. Why do you think things turned out so differently for the two characters? Does it have to do with their experiences? Their upbringing? Their personality?

Essay Topic 2

Biju is different from the other major characters in a number of ways. The most obvious difference is that he is the only character who lives or has lived in America. Is he more like the Americans around him, or have they had a different effect on him? How have his unique experiences set him apart from the other characters? In what ways is he different from the other characters at the end of the novel?

Essay Topic 3

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?

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