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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 is Lakha's point in telling the story about when Bakha was gravely ill as a child?

2. What emotion does Bakha struggle with as his father tells the story of the time he was so ill as a child?

3. Why does Bakha decide that stealing the solar topee is not a good plan?

4. What is a "sadhu"?

5. What has Chota lied to the other players about?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

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

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

5. Why do all of the sepoys and local children long to own the solar topee?

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

7. What surprises Bakha about the hockey stick Charat Singh gives him, and how does he react?

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

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

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The abuse Bakha suffers at the hands of caste-Hindus is part of a larger motif of abuse in Untouchable. Write an essay in which you explore this larger motif. Consider such issues as Lakha's emotional and physical abuse of Bakja and the gender-related abuses that Sohini suffers as you demonstrate that there are many related forms of abuse in the novel. Support your assertions with evidence from the text.

Essay Topic 2

Write an essay that analyzes the significance of the images of nature in Untouchable. Describe the characteristics of these images and then analyze their function. Offer both quoted and paraphrased evidence from the text in support of your claims.

Essay Topic 3

Look up the postcolonial term "mimicry." Then, write an essay in which you explore the relationship of this term to the choices that Bakha and his friends make. Take a position about why they do what they do, what the consequences--positive and negative--are for them, and what messages about both status and colonization are being transmitted through this aspect of Untouchable. Defend your ideas with textual evidence from the novel as well as from online sources, and be sure to cite your sources in MLA format.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,155 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample