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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. Why was the conference different than the plane ride?

2. What was Bilquis' long-standing rule about afternoon visits?

3. Where did Bilquis live in the U.S.?

4. Under whose authority was the conference organized?

5. What did Aunt Amina call Bilquis' baptism?

Short Essay Questions

1. What was wrong with Bilquis' plan to give a Christmas party for her Muslim and Christian friends?

2. What radical idea did Bilquis decide would revive the Sunday fellowship meetings?

3. What did Bilquis discover about her personality through her experience with the children and the plum tree?

4. Why did Ken Old tell Bilquis that she had reason to rejoice even while she is sad at their departure?

5. Why did Bilquis decide not to replace all of the servants she lost?

6. What were the negative and positive results of the Christmas party?

7. Why did Bilquis say she felt "complete" even though she was leaving her home for an indefinite period and didn't know where she was going?

8. What did Bilquis learn when the village woman did not return to thank her for her help?

9. What did Peggy Schlorholtz want Bilquis to do with her?

10. When Bilquis attended a second family funeral, what did the bereaved wife unexpectedly do?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Interesting facts about Bilquis' life before she became involved with Christianity come to light as the story progresses. We learn of her husband's career, her international travels, her divorce, her work during World War II, and her help with the Simple Living Plan.. Why do you think these facts are not initially presented? In your essay, state whether these facts are important to your understanding of Bilquis' story. Why or why not? Why do you think they are presented as incidental, rather than central, to the story?

Essay Topic 2

In your essay, discuss the differences you see between Bilquis' life as a Pakistani and the life she might have experienced as a Western woman. Use the following questions as the beginning of your thinking: Why does she not drive? Why does she have to ask her servants whether her grandson has eaten? Why does she have to learn from her servants where her family is and what their intentions are toward her? Are these situations governed by cultural mores that are peculiar to her time and place?

Essay Topic 3

Many of the changes Bilquis undergoes are surprising to her. In your essay, discuss how she learns about the changes in her own personality and how this effects the credibility of her story to the reader.

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