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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. In India, is it necessary to come up with a name for a child immediately after birth?

2. What concerns Ashima about Sonia as she grows up?

3. After Gogol gives his reasons for changing his name, how do his parents respond?

4. What time of day was the train wreck?

5. What bad news does Ashima receive from her family in India soon after Gogol's birth?

Short Essay Questions

1. What happens when Gogol takes an English class in high school?

2. What is Ashima doing when her water breaks?

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. When Gogol is six, what event changes in the Ganguli family?

6. Why is Ashima afraid while in labor?

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

8. How does Gogol react to the gifts he receives at his fourteenth birthday party?

9. What happens when Gogol's train coming home from college is late?

10. Why doesn't Ashima's grandmother name their grandchild as Ashima and Ashoke requested?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Ashoke's near-death experience is a theme of the novel. Describe this experience and how it affects his later decisions in life. Tell how those decisions affect the lives of the people close to him. Cite scenes or situations in the novel to support your answer.

Essay Topic 2

Moushumi experiences much the same cultural ambivalence as Gogol. Explain why this is so and cite scenes from the book that show this ambivalence.

Essay Topic 3

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.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 679 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample