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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 Ashoke do after the train wreck when he had nightmares at night and couldn't sleep?

2. Who does Gogol meet on a train coming home from school during his freshman year in college?

3. What does Ashoke do that reminds Ashima of the time he visited her parents' home?

4. As Ashoke waits while Ashima gives birth, who does he thank for his survival and this miracle of new life about to begin?

5. What two kinds of names do children in India usually receive?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Gogol do during the traditional rice ceremony when he is six months old?

2. Why does Ashoke choose the name Nikhil for Gogol when he begins school?

3. What does Gogol decide to do when he turns eighteen?

4. How does Gogol feel about his family during visits home from college?

5. What did Ashoke swear to do during his long recovery from the injuries he received during a train wreck when he was a young man?

6. What does Ashoke think about while Ashima is in labor?

7. What do the Gangulis do differently when naming their daughter Sonali than they did when Gogol was born?

8. At college after changing his name, how does Gogol react to being called by his new name?

9. What happens when Gogol wants to see his girlfriend, Ruth, over the Christmas holidays?

10. What type of home do the Gangulis settle down in to raise their family?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The author chooses to use a common third-person voice for the narrative, but tells the story as if in the present. This is not common in literature. Tell whether you think this works well for this story. Tell why or why not and support you case by citing examples from the book that you feel are best told this way or that would be better told differently.

Essay Topic 2

How does Gogol's and his father's relationship change throughout the story? Where do they start, and where do they end up? What changes do they experience in that relationship? Trace their relationship throughout the book. Cite examples to support your answer.

Essay Topic 3

The author's descriptive style of writing is simple and straight-forward, helping her win a Pulitzer Prize. She uses it for both the story itself and to describe the settings. Do you believe this style works for both? Does this style work to delve deeply into the character's minds? Tell why you think the way you do. Did she do a better job of describing Indian immigrants or every-day native-born Americans? Tell why or why not. Cite examples from the novel to support your case.

(see the answer keys)

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