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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 does the word "Jernel" mean?

2. Why does Bakha feel sympathy for the younger of the babu's sons?

3. What is a "solar topee" (86)?

4. What sweet does Ram Charan bring from his sister's wedding to share with his friends?

5. What is the profession of the man that Ram Charan's sister is marrying?

Short Essay Questions

1. When Bakha is lying under a tree outside the barracks, what does he decide about taking so much time away from work?

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

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

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

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 significance of Bakha asking Ram Charan to toss him a sugar plum instead of taking it himself?

7. Describe some of the common elements in Bakha's dreams when he falls asleep in the alley.

8. What excuse does Bakha give for not bringing more food home, and how does his father's reply make him feel?

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

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

Write an essay that analyzes Untouchable's message about hope. Consider the characterization of Bakha as well as the novel's action. Give special consideration to the novel's final pages. Support your assertions with evidence from the text.

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

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.

(see the answer keys)

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