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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 excuse does Kapur give for not running for municipal office?

2. What does Jal find when he goes to visit Nariman at Pleasant Villa?

3. What does Yezad do when Vilas tries to tell him about one of his recent clients?

4. What does Yezad do when he comes to the fires temple?

5. What gift does Kapur give Yezad?

Short Essay Questions

1. In what ways do Jal and Yezad begin to act differently after Coomy and Kapur's deaths?

2. What happens to Yezad's work situation after Kapur's death?

3. What did Murad do in order to have enough money to buy Christmas presents for his family?

4. What changes in behavior does Kapur make in order to become more like the common people?

5. What can we learn about the relationship between Roxana and Yezad when Yezad tells Roxana he lost their money playing Matka?

6. When Yezad wakes up during the night with chest pains, what does he attribute the cause to?

7. What is significant about the introduction of Daisy Ichamora to Nariman?

8. How does Yezad's plan to coerce Kapur to run for municipal council backfire?

9. What are Mr. Kapur's wife's reasons for not wanting him to run for public office?

10. Describe why both Roxana and Yezad are puzzled about the amount of money in the budget envelopes.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

One of Kapur's reasons for not running for office is that his wife tells him that service to family comes before service to community. How is this theme carried throughout the story? Do you think Coomy and Roxana would have agreed with her? Why/why not?

Essay Topic 2

As the family moves into more comfortable lodgings, begins to have more money, and find other interests, they begin to lose touch with each other and with their own values. Show how this affects the characters individually and as a family. Is this a natural progression of events in this story? Is it true in life as well as in fiction?

Essay Topic 3

Briefly research the history of Bombay/Mumbai and tell how the social struggle over the name change compares to the struggles within the Vakeel and Chenoy families.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 936 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample