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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 Dina feel that she is always nagging the two tailors about?

2. What animal does the Monkey-Man kill after returning home from the speech?

3. What right does Narayan attempt to exercise when he is killed?

4. Who are the police gathering up in the streets in Chapter 8?

5. For whom does Dina have to hire a full-time nurse?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does Om rent a bicycle?

2. Why does Dina put a padlock on the door?

3. What happens to young Maneck when he is away for the first time at boarding school?

4. Who is Shankar and what is significant about his body?

5. What is Dina's reaction to Maneck when he arrives to stay with her?

6. Why does Dukhi send for his sons to be sent to live with Ashraf?

7. Who is Ibrahim and what does he demand?

8. How do the passengers on the train react to the sudden halt in their travel?

9. How do the businessmen lure the villagers to the Prime Minister's speech, and do they follow through?

10. How is Dina Dalal's home described?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Throughout the entire novel, Ishvar is obsessed with finding a wife for Om. Marriage is seen as a positive addition to families even when the family doesn't have the financial means to support another person.

Part 1.) Compare/Contrast the marriage between Dina and Rustom to the one between Nusswan and Ruby. What is the same about these marriages and what is different?

Part 2.) Explain why you think Ishvar's expectations for Om's wife and marriage are reasonable. How will Om's impending marriage affect the lives of everyone living in Dina's home?

Essay Topic 2

Dina's relationship with Maneck runs the gamut of levels. There are times when she is interested in him as lover, a son, a friend.

Part 1.) Create a timeline of progression for the ways that Dina views Maneck. What seem to the be triggers that move her from one mentality to another?

Part 2.) Explain the different ways that Maneck responds to Dina's view of him. In what type of relationship does he seem to be the most interested?

Part 3.) Explain which relationship you think would be the best for Dina and Maneck. What type of relationship seems to be the healthiest? Which would most benefit the characters as individuals?

Essay Topic 3

When Maneck commits suicide at the end of the novel, his final thought is that he is happy to be holding the chess board. This thought is a bit ambiguous as to whether Maneck is feeling guilt, or if he is overwhelmed with the way that the world has turned out.

Part 1.) Argue what you believe to be the meaning to Maneck's final thoughts.

Part 2.) Argue why you think it was so important to Maneck that he is holding the chess board, especially after he spent years not taking care of it, or missing its presence.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 801 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample