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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 of the following does the narrator report attended his play?

2. Where does the narrator report that Rind’s father first tried to open a mosque?

3. What kind of gloves does the narrator wear to the emergency room?

4. How much does Asha pay for a session with her psychic?

5. Which of the following institutions does the narrator report Asha attended?

Short Essay Questions

1. What reasons does the narrator give for the SEC investigation of Rind’s investment company?

2. What does the narrator report as shocking in his review of the transcripts of proceedings against Rind’s investment company?

3. What factors does the narrator cite as having broken him out of his wealth-induced laziness and indulgence?

4. What overall project does the narrator ascribe to Rind?

5. Why does the narrator report being initially put at ease by the Pennsylvania state trooper who pulls him over?

6. What is the dream technique the narrator reports having learned from Moroni?

7. What decorations are on the walls of the repair shop in Scranton?

8. What comments does the narrator claim to expect to receive from his parents after leaving the repair shop in Scranton?

9. What features does the narrator initially ascribe to Rind that mark him as Pakistani, rather than Indian?

10. Why does the university dean on Rind’s foundation board oppose the narrator joining said board?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Consider the comment that “America had begun as a colony and that a colony it remained, that is, a place still defined by its plunder, where enrichment was paramount and civil order always an afterthought” (xiii). Is the comment correct? What in the novel and in experience indicates that it is / not? How does it do so?

Essay Topic 2

The narrator asks about his mother “In expecting what she couldn’t give me, hadn’t I rejected what she could” (219)? Is the answer “yes” or “no?” What in the novel indicates the answer? How does it do so?

Essay Topic 3

Rind quotes Norbert Elias as remarking that “The established majority takes its we-image from a minority of its best, and shapes a they-image of the despised outsiders from a minority of their worst” (139). Does the novel agree with the sentiment? What in the text asserts that it does or does not? How does it do so?

(see the answer keys)

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