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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 is Jaya's job?

2. What is the Indian word for "grandfather"?

3. What does the women whom Amisha meets at the school ask her?

4. Who is Shiva's consort?

5. What is Navaratri?

Short Essay Questions

1. What writing prompt does Amisha give her class on her first day as a teacher?

2. How does the head teacher, Miss Roberts, treat Amisha?

3. Why must Jaya and Patrick wait another year to have a child?

4. What does Ravi tell Jaya about the ownership of the school and the mill?

5. What does Jaya buy for her parents at the market in Chapter 27?

6. How did Jaya upset her mother when Jaya was 12 years old?

7. What does Stephen propose to Amisha when he comes to her home for the first time?

8. What is the reason for Lord Ganesha's elephant head?

9. How does Jaya know where to go when she arrives in India?

10. What spices do Jaya and Ravi use when they cook together at Ravi's home?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Marriage and weddings are a major theme within the novel. Use evidence from the text to analyze the author's portrayal of tradition Indian weddings. Are Indian weddings portrayed in a positive, negative, or nuanced manner? Use evidence from the text to support your opinion.

Essay Topic 2

This novel employs both third-person narration (in Amisha and Ravi's sections) as well as first-person narration (in Jaya's sections). Write an essay in which you compare and contrast these narrative tones. Are they more similar or more different? Use evidence from the text to support your answer.

Essay Topic 3

The story is told from Amisha, Jaya, and Ravi's perspectives Analyze the author’s choice to tell the story from these points of view. How does viewing the events from these various point of view affect the plot?

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This section contains 590 words (approx. 2 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample