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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 long did Alsana know Samad before they married?

2. Which of these did Archie not use to barter for food?

3. What does Samad do right after his fight with Alsana?

4. Where do Clara and Archie spend the first few hours of their marriage?

5. What is the Piss-Pot?

Short Essay Questions

1. What disagreement do Archie and Samad have about the writings on the walls of the church?

2. What is Archie's theory about the incident involving Pande?

3. How does Alsana retaliate against Samad for sending Magid away?

4. What argument does Neena have with Alsana?

5. What do Samad and Alsana argue about?

6. How does the Pakistani community react to Magid's having been sent away?

7. What does Alsana mean when she says that Clara's baby and her own will have "daddy-long-legs" for fathers?

8. Why does Samad arrive in Harlesden fifteen minutes early?

9. How does Poppy take Samad's ending of their affair?

10. What is Samad's rationale for driving off into the country with the prisoner and eventually killing him?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What does Irie find at her grandmother's that she didn't realize she was searching for? Would knowing some of this information earlier have changed things for her? Why or why not?

Essay Topic 2

One of the pillars on which Archie and Samad's friendship is built is the fact that Archie killed Dr. Sick. What indications do we have that it didn't, perhaps, happen that way? Why is it so important to Samad that it did? Is his reaction to learning the truth what you would have expected? Why or why not?

Essay Topic 3

Several of Smith's male characters have aspirations to being heroes. Choose two characters and compare and contrast their feelings about heroism and what, if anything, they do to achieve that status.

(see the answer keys)

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