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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. Where does Biju live?

2. Why isn't Biju permitted to apply for a green card?

3. What does Sai serve to the judge at the beginning of the novel?

4. After Gyan and Sai's first meeting, why does the cook think it strange that Gyan is Nepalese?

5. What do many of the people from Bengal begin to desire?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

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

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

5. How are the romance and the civil unrest in chapter 20 presented in a similar way?

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

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

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

9. In chapter 29, why does Gyan betray Sai?

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

What is the significance of the fact that there are a number of characters who behave like the British, but there are no actual British characters specifically mentioned in the novel? Why are they so totally absent, and what is the end result of their absence for the characters who've tried to emulate them? At the end of the novel, do you think life is better for the Anglicized characters or those who view themselves purely as Indians, and why? Use examples of specific characters.

Essay Topic 2

How do the judge's behavior and actions upon returning from England to his family represent the English and Indian sides of himself? Has he adopted the best English customs and the worst Indian ones, or vice-versa?

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?

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