View a FREE sample

This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What are outcastes such as Bakha supposed to do when they are walking near caste Hindus in town?
(a) Turn away and keep still until the caste Hindu has passed.
(b) Bow and avert their eyes.
(c) Stand against a wall until the caste Hindu has passed.
(d) Call out and announce their presence.

2. Why did a rich merchant once give Lakha a buffalo cow?
(a) He owed Lakha a year's back wages for sweeping at his home and shop.
(b) It was a part of the merchant's daughter's wedding festivities.
(c) He was advised to do this because he wanted sons.
(d) His father had owed a debt to Lakha's father before both men died.

3. What does Bakha tell Sohini he is going to do when he sends her home with his cleaning equipment?
(a) Go make a complaint to the police.
(b) Go back and kill the priest.
(c) Go to get the family some food.
(d) Go back and make the priest admit what he did.

4. Why does Rakha not come inside when their father has Sohini call him in?
(a) He has gone to see the preparations for Ram Charan's sister's wedding.
(b) He has gone to fetch kindling for the waste-burning fire.
(c) He is angry at Sohini and pretends not to hear her.
(d) He is off somewhere playing games with his friends.

5. Why are Chota and Ram Charan eager for the babu's sons to be at the hockey game?
(a) The babu might come to the game to watch them play.
(b) They are excellent hockey players.
(c) They own a number of hockey sticks.
(d) The babu will send his sons with plenty of food for everyone.

6. What gesture does Bakha continuously make in order to try to placate the man that he has bumped on the street?
(a) He joins his hands prayerfully.
(b) He kneels in the street.
(c) He covers his eyes with his hands.
(d) He bows to the man over and over.

7. What does Bakha buy from the betel-leaf shop?
(a) Cigarettes.
(b) Medicine.
(c) Tea.
(d) Matches.

8. What has Bakha successfully taught himself from the book he bought?
(a) Basic math.
(b) How to write.
(c) How to read.
(d) The alphabet.

9. What animals does the man that Bakha bumps in the street repeatedly compare Bakha to?
(a) A dog and a pig.
(b) A pig and a goat.
(c) A goat and a monkey.
(d) A monkey and a dog.

10. What word does Bakha use to refer to British soldiers?
(a) Pongos.
(b) Redcoats.
(c) Tommies.
(d) Squaddies.

11. What is a tonga-wallah?
(a) A delivery person.
(b) A jockey.
(c) A blacksmith.
(d) A carriage driver.

12. What does the term "Jemandar" mean (3)?
(a) To argue a point just for the fun of argument.
(b) Foreman, leader of a crew of workers.
(c) A state of ritual impurity.
(d) It is a term of respect for someone of a higher caste.

13. What is Bakha staring at when he hears the man complaining that Bakha has bumped into him?
(a) A woman sitting in a window.
(b) A page of the Daily Mail newspaper laying in the street.
(c) The huge advertising signs he cannot read.
(d) The colorful clothing of a Peshawari fruit-seller.

14. Which character are people speaking of when they say that he is "a bit superior to his job" (9)?
(a) Charat Singh.
(b) Bakha.
(c) Rakha.
(d) Lakha.

15. Who are the few men who come to the latrines wearing long white tunics and loose trousers?
(a) Sepoys.
(b) Muslims.
(c) Fakirs.
(d) Priests.

Short Answer Questions

1. On page 28, what does the narrator say prevails in the lives of the outcastes?

2. What is ironic about Bakha's friends teasing him about his interest in "fashun" (26)?

3. Besides his hockey skills and sense of humor, what is Havildar Charat Singh well-known for?

4. What habit of the British soldiers did Bakha find "Disgraceful" (12)?

5. On page 6, what do the outcaste boys start calling Bakha after he starts wearing British clothing?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 675 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample