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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. Which character receives a scholarship to the university?

2. Who institutes the Deserving Destitutes Fund?

3. Whom does Owad snub when he returns home?

4. In Book 2, Chapter 4, what happens to Chinta?

5. Why is Mr. Biswas asked to join the new government agency after the war?

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe Shekhar's life as an adult.

2. How does Mr. Biswas use Hanuman House after it has been abandoned by the Tulsi family?

3. How does Mrs. Tulsi's return to Arwacas affect the family left in Port of Spain?

4. How does Mr. Biswas earn his promotion as reporter for the "Trinidad Sentinel?"

5. How is Mr. Biswas' second house spared from burning?

6. How do Owad's communist views affect the Tulsi family?

7. Describe the estate at Shorthills.

8. Why does Mr. Biswas buy a typewriter, and what happens to it later in the story?

9. What threatens Mr. Biswas' job at the "Trinidad Sentinel"?

10. Describe the conflict that arises between Owad and Anand.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Describe the influence the farming venture at Shorthills had on the characters in the novel. What influenced the Tulsi family to try farming? What factors lead to the farm's demise? How does the failure of the farm affect the characters?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the factors that led to the failure of Mr. Biswas' shop in The Chase. How does Mr. Biswas' attitude towards the Tulsi family influence his business decisions? How might his attitude towards mathematics and literature have affected his ability to run the shop? What other external factors could have affected the success of the shop? Whom could Mr. Biswas have learned from, and what could he have done to make the shop more successful?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the power struggles evident in the book. Which characters are perpetually locked in a bid for power within the family? What factors assist characters in gaining or losing power? How do the power struggles evident among the adult characters affect the children? What cycle of power is evident in the book, and how does Mr. Biswas attempt to break that cycle?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 999 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample