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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. How does Zohra treat Asghar after she confesses her feelings to him in Part IV?

2. What does Begam Waheed do when the palanquin carrying Bilqeece reaches the vestibule of the Nihal house?

3. What is Habibuddin referring to when, on his deathbed, he says "It's beautiful, divine" (197)?

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

5. How does Asghar get to Bilqeece's home on the day of his wedding?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why is Ghafoor somewhat "quiet and subdued" in Chapter 6?

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

3. Describe Mehro's life and marriage during this time period.

4. What does the narrator say families have to understand about raising daughters?

5. How does Zohra end up confessing her feelings to Asghar?

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

7. Explain what Mir Nihal's grandchildren do that makes him so angry, and tell how he responds to their misbehavior.

8. How does Asghar behave in the months immediately following Bilqeece's death?

9. What contrasting emotions do Asghar and Bilqeece feel when the time comes for Asghar to take her home to his house?

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write an essay in which you analyze Mir Nihal's experiences in the first four chapters of Part II. Discuss the various ways in which his divided attention impacts both himself and others, and then offer an explanation of what his divided attention and its consequences signify in the novel as a whole. Support your assertions with evidence from the text.

Essay Topic 2

Write an essay that analyzes the symbolic significance of pigeons in Twilight in Delhi. Be sure to offer evidence of their use throughout the text and not simply in the early chapters where Mir Nihal keeps them as a hobby. If you use outside sources to research their significance in Islamic culture, cite these in MLA format.

Essay Topic 3

Write an essay in which you make and defend a claim about the significance of the epigraphs that open the book itself and each of its four main parts. Use textual evidence to defend your assertions.

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