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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 did Zainab do with the crow he found trapped in Chapter 10?

2. On what houseboat did Tilo meet Commander Gulrez in Chapter 9?

3. Who was Tilo's mother?

4. What comprises the old notebook of Tilo's amongst Musa's "recoveries" in Chapter 8?

5. How old was Miss Jebeen when she died?

Short Essay Questions

1. How is Tilo's encounter at the zoo described in Chapter 8? What do you think this encounter symbolizes?

2. How is Tilo's mother described? How did Tilo feel about her mother?

3. How were Tilo and the baby greeted at the Jannat Guest House in Chapter 8?

4. How have the circumstances of Biplab Dasgupta's life changed in the opening of Chapter 11?

5. What was indicated by the death of Usman Abdullah in Chapter 9?

6. Who or what is Guih Kom and what is signficiant about his/her appearance in Chapter 12?

7. What is described in the poem from Chapter 12 and how does it connect to the themes of the novel?

8. Where were Musa's recoveries stored? Why?

9. What questions are posed to the reader regarding the men crushed by the truck in Chapter 8? Why are these questions significant?

10. Why did Tilo decide against keeping the child in the end of Chapter 9?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Analyze and discuss the character of Tilo in The Ministry of Utmost Happiness. Is Tilo a protagonist or antagonist? Why? What is revealed of Tilo's backstory and her family? What do Tilo's actions reveal about her character?

Essay Topic 2

Analyze and discuss the character of Anjum in The Ministry of Utmost Happiness. Is Anjum a protagonist or antagonist? Why? What are Anjum's defining characteristics? What is revealed about her through her behavior and actions?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the character of Biplab Dasgupta. Why do you think that this is the only character who has a first-person narrative? How does Biplab Dasgupta further the plot of the novel? What becomes of him by the end of the story?

(see the answer keys)

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