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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What does the narrator say prevents the world from being "a barren desert in which no oasis exists" (91)?
(a) Hope.
(b) Faith.
(c) Love.
(d) Charity.

2. In the opening paragraphs of Part II, Chapter 7, what aspect of the days before the Coronation is stressed?
(a) The hypocrisy.
(b) The novelty.
(c) The anxiety.
(d) The injustice.

3. In Part II, Chapter 4, what thought makes Mir Nihal suddenly feel guilty and stop eating?
(a) He has neglected his responsibilities to his wife and children.
(b) The deaths of the pigeons were a result of his distraction over a mistress.
(c) He was not present at Babban Jan's death because he was busy with his birds.
(d) Babban Jan is dead and he should not be enjoying himself.

4. What advice does Bari give Asghar about his love life?
(a) He should marry Mushtari Bai.
(b) Loving is not as satisfying as is being loved.
(c) He should contact his sister in Bhopal for her help.
(d) He should buy charms to help him persuade his father.

5. What is the main idea of the epigraph on the book's title page?
(a) The Indian people must hold the British to account for their cruelty.
(b) Delhi has undergone a significant decline under colonial rule.
(c) Despite its colonial status, Delhi remains an important world capital.
(d) The people of Delhi should push harder to end colonial rule.

Short Answer Questions

1. Who is the poet who wrote the words to the song that Gul Bano sings?

2. Why does Mir Nihal not go into work on Saturday after a cat attacked his pigeons?

3. What does Mushtari Bai mean when she compares Asghar to "the moon of Eed" (53)?

4. What does the introduction's title indicate the purpose of the introduction is?

5. What is significant about the year that Begam Nihal compares the summer's heat to?

Short Essay Questions

1. What criticisms does Mir Nihal make about his son Asghar in Chapter 1?

2. In what way were E. M. Forester and Virginia Woolf involved in the publication of Twilight in India?

3. What does Mir Nihal find happening when he returns home at the beginning of Chapter 2, and what finally causes him to become angry?

4. How is Babban Jan's mother affected by her death, and what does Mir Nihal tell the woman about her concerns?

5. What is the Ghadar of 1857?

6. What are three reasons that Begam Nihal decides to advocate for Asghar with Mir Nihal?

7. What does Begam Nihal tease her husband about when she calls him in to talk with him about Asghar and Bilqeece?

8. What contrast do Begam Jamal and Begam Nihal make between the processions held by Mughal emperors and their expectations for the procession about to be held by the English?

9. Why did Ahmed Ali write Twilight in Delhi in English?

10. What did the ironsmith teach Mir Nihal to find, and how did he teach him to find it?

(see the answer keys)

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