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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 Meet Singh claim Jugga is accused of?

2. Why does Meet imply by assuming Iqbal's name of Singh?

3. What term of endearment is used for Imam Baksh?

4. How is Lala killed?

5. What does Iqbal believe the country should focus on instead of industry and agriculture?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. Describe what the villagers find at the river with the lambardar.

3. Describe the scene at the end of Chapter 1, section 2, between Chand and the young woman.

4. Explain the situation between Muslims and Hindus and Sikhs, as discussed by Chand and the Subinspector in Chapter 1, section 2.

5. Why do some of the villagers agree to attack the train?

6. Discuss what Chand and the Subinspector note about the corruption of government officials in Chapter 1, section 2.

7. Describe how the bodies from the ghost train in Chapter 4 are handled.

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

9. Explain why Chand now believes Iqbal is a Sikh.

10. Describe the scene between Jugga and Malli at the end of Chapter 2, section 3.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Describe the monsoon, as it is presented in the novel. What is a monsoon? What is the area like prior to the monsoon? What does the monsoon bring with it? What generally happens to the villagers during this time? In the novel, what does the coming of the storms symbolize in terms of the violence of the war in India? What role does the swelling river have in the novel, and how does this coincide with the swelling violence in Mano Majra?

Essay Topic 2

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 3

In the beginning of the novel, how do the trains of Mana Majra play a part in the lives of the villagers? What activities coincide with the trains? What do the trains, at first, represent? As the novel goes on, how does the role of the train change? What does the train symbolize by the middle of the novel, as it is used to bring in corpses? What does it symbolize at the end of the novel? Is the symbolism different between Muslims, Hindus, and Sikhs? Why?

(see the answer keys)

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