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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 happens to Iqbal the morning following his conversations with the lambardar and mallah?

2. What value is placed above others in the Punjabi, according to Iqbal?

3. What event ends Chand's actions with the young woman?

4. What happens in the night at the station that turns the sky orange?

5. What does Chand tell the Subinspector his principle should be?

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe the summer monsoon.

2. What plan does the young man in the temple develop to attack the train?

3. Describe Nooran, as the dacoits describe her.

4. Tell the story Jugga recites on the way to the police station.

5. Describe Imam Baksh's belief of how a religious man is seen. and why.

6. Describe Chand's nightmare the night after the day with the ghost train.

7. Describe the afternoon of the ghost train, as experienced by the villagers.

8. What is the plan for the police, in terms of what to do with Malli and his gang, and who to ask villagers about in Chapter 2, section 3?

9. What does Chand tell the Subinspector to do in terms of Malli and his gang, in Chapter 2, section 3?

10. In section 2 of Chapter 4, what does Chand tell the Subinspector to do, in terms of the planned massacre of the refugees on the train?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

One of the primary themes in the novel is the concept of the communal action, both in terms of peace and in terms of communal violence. Explain the concept of communal action. In the beginning, what is Mano Majra, in terms of its sense of community? How is that changed? What is the sense of community by the end of the novel? Since no violence occurred inside the village as a result of the Hindu/Muslim conflict, what drove a wedge between the two sects? In the end, does anyone benefit from the communal violence? Why or why not?

Essay Topic 2

In the middle of the novel, a group of Sikh soldiers come to Mano Majra. In the same section, a train full of dead bodies is burned right outside the village, with the help of the wood and kerosene of the villagers. How do you think these events helped frame the rest of the story? If the train had not come through and the soldiers had not arrived, do you think the rest of the novel would have gone as it did? Would there have been a feeling of a need to retaliate? Would the villagers have remained brotherly? How else could the military have handled the trainload of deceased bodies? Was the government way of dealing with issues part of the problem in the novel? Why?

Essay Topic 3

Throughout the novel, the concept of freedom is discussed in terms of what freedom means to different classes in the novel and to different religious sects. Compare and contrast the different views of freedom by the characters in the novel and explain their differing opinions. How does Iqbal see freedom? When he speaks of freedom, does he imply a tangible freedom or political freedom? What are the views of Imam the mullah and the lambardar in terms of freedom? Why do their views differ? Are their views of freedom tangible or political? How does Jugga view freedom? What does he choose to do with his freedom following his release from jail? How does this compare with what Iqbal and the mullah and lambardar choose to do with their freedoms? What does this say about the value of freedom?

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