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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. Why is Biju fired from his delivery job?

2. What did his wife do when the judge first returned from England?

3. What type of food does Biju deliver?

4. Where does Sai spend Christmas?

5. Why does Biju quit his job at Brigitte's?

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. In chapter 17, when Biju and Saeed part ways, why does Biju vow never to let anyone get close to him again?

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

4. In chapter 26, why does Gyan begin regretting the time he spent with Sai as he becomes part of the liberation?

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

6. In chapter 27, why does Sai have so much trouble relating to Gyan's ideas about a Gorkha homeland?

7. In chapter 5, what is the symbolism of the two-level restaurants with basement kitchens where Biju works?

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

9. In chapter 19, why does the author have both the cook and Lola experience difficulty communicating with a loved-one abroad?

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What happens to the system of justice in the Indian village as the GNLF men take over? Explain how one of the characters in the novel is unfairly victimized by this situation. Do you think the people should have fought harder against the unfair policies? Do you think they should have tried to organize and fought back as one large body? Would this have been an effective technique? Or would this just have made things worse?

Essay Topic 2

Why do you think the cook remains with the judge, even though the judge is distant and treats him unkindly? Why do you think the cook lies about being mistreated, rather than trying to do something about it? Do you think he would have remained with the judge if Sai had never come to stay with them? What role does Sai play in the cook's life?

Essay Topic 3

How does the judge's house during the rainy season symbolize what is happening to the judge himself? What does this have to do with his past, and the way he lives his life today?

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