View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. Why does Ram Charan remove his solar hat as the three friends walk back from the spring?

2. What does Chota suggest Bakha distract himself from the woes of his morning with?

3. What instruction does Charat Singh give Bakha about the hockey stick?

4. What is a "sadhu"?

5. What does Rakha say he will kill Bakha for?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. How does the younger of the babu's sons end up getting injured?

3. Why do the sweepers all spend so much time outdoors, even when they are not working?

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

5. What puzzles Bakha about his having had the courage to ask a sentry for the solar topee when he was a child, and why does it puzzle him?

6. What is the function of the passage of description of Bakha's family's outdoor kitchen?

7. How does the first woman in the alley houses treat Bakha and the sadhu very differently?

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

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

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Do some research into the impact of systemic oppression on parenting. Then, use this research to illuminate Lakha's choices as a parent and their impact on Bakha. Use evidence from Untouchable as well as from your research to support your assertions. Cite all sources in MLA format.

Essay Topic 2

Do some biographical research on Mulk Raj Anand. Use this biographical information to write an essay that connects the author's personal life with his concerns in Untouchable. Consider both his motivations and the perspective that he brings to the text. Use evidence from Untouchable as well as from your research to support your assertions. Cite all sources in MLA format.

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 1,210 words (approx. 5 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample