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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What does Bakha do when he is finally at the top of the temple steps?
(a) Stands at the edge where he can see through a crack in the wall.
(b) Balances on his toes and looks through a window.
(c) Lies down and peers under the door.
(d) Sneaks quietly inside the temple.

2. What does Bakha see in the street outside of town that he reminds himself his mother told him was good luck to see?
(a) A red bird.
(b) A lost coin.
(c) Animal bones.
(d) A human corpse.

3. What is Gulabo's job?
(a) Washerwoman.
(b) Water-carrier.
(c) Weaver.
(d) Leather tanner.

4. What does Sohini eventually admit to her brother the priest did to her?
(a) Grabbed her breasts.
(b) Made improper sexual suggestions.
(c) Chastised her for not cleaning properly.
(d) Threatened to get their father in trouble.

5. Why does Bahka not immediately apologize when he is accused of bumping the man in the street?
(a) He does not hear what the man is saying, at first.
(b) He is paralyzed with fear.
(c) He thinks the idea of ritual pollution is ridiculous.
(d) He does not think he really bumped the man.

Short Answer Questions

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

2. What does the priest tell Sohini he wants her to do?

3. What is a "sepoy" (5)?

4. On page 9, what does the narrator compare Bakha's capacity for work to?

5. What does context suggest is the correct interpretation of the narrator's description of the temple's "florid exuberance" (46)?

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe the job that Bakha does after he has cleaned all of the latrines twice.

2. Describe Bakha's father.

3. On his way into town, how does Bakha light his cigarette, and what does this incident demonstrate about how his caste status impacts his beliefs about himself?

4. What altercation does Sohini get into at the well, and why does it happen?

5. Why is the man that Bakha bumps into in the street so angry?

6. Describe the conditions in which Bakha's family lives.

7. What rhetorical purpose is served by the long passage in which Pundit Kali Nath thinks about all of the foods he has recently eaten?

8. Describe the dynamic between Bakha and his friends.

9. Which habits of Indian people does Bakha find crude and unsophisticated?

10. How do the incidents that take place with Bakha and Sohini at the temple reinforce the text's claims about power and status?

(see the answer keys)

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