Print
Word
PDF
|
| Name: _________________________ | Period: ___________________ |
This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.
Short Answer Questions
1. Why don't Lola and Noni trust their watchman?
2. Who is sent to the police station after the judge is robbed?
3. What request does the cook repeatedly make of Bijou?
4. What is one of the main privileges the judge loses when he first returns from England?
5. Who is Harish-Harry?
Short Essay Questions
1. In chapter 11, what do we learn about Indian servants' preferences for employers?
2. In chapter 23, what do Sai and Gyan discover they have in common?
3. In chapter 17, when Biju and Saeed part ways, why does Biju vow never to let anyone get close to him again?
4. In chapter 19, why does the author have both the cook and Lola experience difficulty communicating with a loved-one abroad?
5. In chapter 8, why is Jemu so determined to reject his father's traditional Indian customs by refusing to throw the coconut overboard?
6. How are the romance and the civil unrest in chapter 20 presented in a similar way?
7. What is the significance of the elaborate Christmas celebration in chapter 25?
8. As described in chapter 12, what is the difference between the effects of Catholic school on Sai and Noni?
9. In chapter 26, why does Gyan begin regretting the time he spent with Sai as he becomes part of the liberation?
10. In chapter 29, why does Gyan betray Sai?
Essay Topics
Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:
Essay Topic 1
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 2
Why do you think the novel is entitled The Inheritance of Loss? Which characters in the book have suffered losses? Do you think "inheritance" refers strictly to losses carried over from the characters' ancestors, or are the losses inherited from some larger truth or influence?
Essay Topic 3
Throughout the novel, a number of characters demonstrate or wrestle with stereotypes about members of a certain ethnic group. These include Sai, the cook, Lola and Noni, and Biju. Choose one of these characters and describe how their stereotypical ideas play out in the novel. What do you think this says about the character in a larger sense? Is there any change in how the character comes to view members of this group? How does this relate to the theme of identity in the novel?
|
This section contains 815 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) |
|
