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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 Chid do when someone gives him a guava or a banana?

2. What is the religious significance of Baba Firdau's shrine?

3. What does Harry tell the narrator when she asks him for news on Khatm when he visits in Section 16?

4. Why is the person the narrator discovers inside the royal tomb there, in Section 13?

5. Why does the narrator tell Inder Lal that she is in India (other than for Olivia's letters)?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Inder Lal think of India?

2. What do Douglas and the Nawab represent in Section 16?

3. Describe the narrator's room in Satipur City.

4. Describe Olivia and Douglas's relationship in Section 23.

5. Describe a typical day for the narrator, according to her March 8th journal entry.

6. What is Satipur like in Section 17?

7. Describe Maji.

8. What does the narrator reveal about Douglas's life in Section 30?

9. Explain the importance of the red strings in Section 26.

10. How does the narrator feel upon discovering that she is pregnant?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

At the end of Heat and Dust the narrator keeps her child and heads off to live on the mountainside. Explain the changes that she has experienced that allow her to make this move and these decisions at this point in her life. Consider the theme of appearance versus reality, the power of choice, and the ability to change in your answer.

Essay Topic 2

Much of Heat and Dust is the study of contrasts between the Eastern and Western cultures. Explore that concept as you answer these questions:

1) What preconceived notions do the English in Olivia's time bring with them to India that shape their experiences in that culture? Use at least 3 specific character examples in your answer.

2) How do the Nawab and Chid adapt to cultures that are different from the ones they were raised in? What effects do their actions have on them and on those around them?

3) How do Harry and Maji represent the clash of, or integration of, different cultures in this story?

Essay Topic 3

Do the characters in Heat and Dust create their own destinies, or has life thrust circumstances upon them? Analyze this question for any 3 characters in the story. Be sure to select at least one character from Olivia's time and one from the minor time. Consider expectations, behavior, circumstances and attitudes.

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