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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. Why does Bakha think that his father will not object to his leaving if he says he is going to see Ram Charan's sister's wedding?

2. Whom does Bakha see working in the river on his way to Ram Charan's sister's wedding?

3. What point does Bakha take away from the story his father tells about when Bakha was gravely ill as a child?

4. Why does Bakha feel glad that his friends are walking well ahead of him when they are heading to the heath?

5. How much money was Gulabo given for her daughter's hand in marriage?

Short Essay Questions

1. What stories about Charat Singh's hockey career does Bakha think about while he is waiting for Charat Singh to appear?

2. What characteristics of Rakha does the narrator stress in the description of him coming home from the barracks with food?

3. Although Bakha is honored by Charat Singh's actions, in what sense are they also condescending and dismissive of Bakha's humanity?

4. Describe Bakha's memory of seeing Ram Charan's sister on her way home from the brook one morning before dawn.

5. What game does Bakha remember playing with his friends and Ram Charan's sister when they were young children?

6. Even before Charat Singh gives Bakha the hockey stick, what does he do that causes Bakha to feel very honored?

7. Despite his hunger, how does Bakha end up too nauseated to eat the food his brother brings home?

8. What causes Bakha to tell his father about his morning's misadventures, and how does his father react?

9. How does Bakha react to Chota's suggestion that the friends "catch hold" of the priest one day (84)?

10. How does Chota react differently to Bakha's stories about the priest and the woman at the alley house?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

At the time that Untouchable was published, it was hailed as a remarkably unbiased depiction of a Scheduled Caste main character. Now that some time has passed and understanding of prejudice has evolved, does the novel's narrative voice still seem prejudice-free--or does the narrator actually exhibit some biases against Scheduled Caste people? Write an essay that takes and defends a position on this issue. Support your assertions with evidence from the text; if you use outside sources, be sure to cite these in MLA format.

Essay Topic 2

Write an essay that takes and defends a position on Bakha's ability to function as a protagonist in Untouchable. Does he meet the qualification of driving the action as he pursues a goal, or does his outcaste status mean he lacks the agency to function as a protagonist? Defend your answer with evidence from the text, and explore the implications your answer has for the book's theme.

Essay Topic 3

Write an essay in which you consider the significance of including Gandhi as a character in Untouchable while omitting any mention of B. R. Ambedkar. Do you think it is possible that Anand was unaware of Ambedkar? If so, what does this say about Anand's devotion to the cause of Scheduled Caste people? How does this relate to questions about representation? If Anand was aware of Ambedkar, what might his motivations have been for including Gandhi instead of Ambedkar? How does this relate to questions about audience? How does this choice impact the novel's theme? Consider these questions at minimum as you advance and defend your claim.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,294 words (approx. 5 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample