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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 Asghar notice about the streets of Delhi?

2. What does Zohra do when her mother tells her that she must begin observing purdah with Asghar?

3. In the book's final line, what is night said to cover up "in its blanket of darkness and gloom" (200)?

4. Who is Blind Hafizji?

5. What political movement from the previous year does Mir Nihal think about at the beginning of Part IV, Chapter 4?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Asghar believe is the "one thing that kept the heart of man alive," and why does he believe this (182)?

2. In Chapter 6, what does Asghar find out has happened to Mirza's son, and how does Asghar react?

3. What are Saeed Hasan's views about Indian independence, and why?

4. Once Asghar and Bilqeece have their own home, what is the routine they settle into?

5. What happens to Habibuddin in Chapter 9?

6. Explain why it is the changes made to Chandni Chowk that "affected the people more deeply than anything else" (143).

7. What does the narrator say about prayers and God in the context of the pandemic?

8. What complaints does the narrator make against the grave diggers, cloth merchants, and body washers?

9. When Habibuddin hears what has happened to Mirza's son, why does his reaction please Mir Nihal?

10. How does Bilqeece's upbringing make it difficult for her to return Asghar's passion?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The expression "Who can meddle in the affairs of God" is used several times in the text. Find these occurrences and consider their contexts. Then, write an essay that makes and defends a claim about the use of this expression as a motif in Twilight in Delhi. Be sure to defend your ideas with evidence from the text.

Essay Topic 2

The life outcomes of the Nihal children--Asghar, Mehro, Begam Waheed, Habibuddin, and Kabiruddin--vary significantly from one another. Write an essay in which you compare and contrast the happiness of the adult lives of these five people, making clear the significance of their relative levels of happiness. Offer textual evidence to support your claims.

Essay Topic 3

Write an essay in which you affirm, refute, or qualify the following statement: "Asghar's inability to appreciate his wife until actually faced with losing her parallels the residents' of Delhi's inability to appreciate the importance of their way of life until it is threatened with annihilation." Support your claims with evidence from the text.

(see the answer keys)

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