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

Short Answer Questions

1. What does the leader do to Jugga?

2. What is the punishment for interfering with those in charge of the Muslim's property?

3. What does Jugga's mother promise Nooran?

4. What does the little boy report about the river?

5. What religion does Iqbal finally claim in this chapter?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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?

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

Analyze the character of Iqbal, based on his actions and thoughts throughout the novel. How does Iqbal present himself to other characters throughout the novel in terms of his speeches and his rants against the power of government? How do his thoughts and actions as he is arrested relate to this view he attempts to present? How about his actions once he is released from prison? What are his true views of sacrifice and bravery, as is seem by his actions and thoughts at the end of the novel? How does he choose to react to the news of the coming violence? Do his statements at the end of the novel, as he drinks, show him to be a moral and virtuous man as he claims, or do his actions show him to be a selfish, cowardly man? Why? Be sure to include examples from the book to explain your answers.

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This section contains 483 words (approx. 2 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample