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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 is the name of Lilia's teacher?

2. What is Shoba's occupation in "A Temporary Matter"?

3. In what room in the house does Shukumar work on his dissertation?

4. What is the date when Shoba checks the wall calendar, the day they get the electricity shut-off notice?

5. What game do Mr. Pirzada and Lilia's parents play each night?

Short Essay Questions

1. What happens when Lilia returns from trick-or-treating?

2. What does Lilia do with the candy after Mr. Pirzada returns to Dacca?

3. What happens to Boori Ma when the wives of the building decide to make improvements while the Dalals are out of town?

4. Why does Shukumar not look forward to the weekends when Shoba is home?

5. What is Mr. Kapasi's other occupation?

6. Why is the electricity being turned off in Shoba and Shukumar's neighborhood in "A Temporary Matter"?

7. What are the rituals Mr. Pirzada follows nightly?

8. What would Mr. Kapasi like to be doing for work?

9. Why isn't Mrs. Dalal pleased with what Mr. Dalal does for her when he gets a promotion?

10. What do Shukumar and Shoba do the first night the power is turned off?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

How is the baby in "A Temporary Matter" a metaphor for the marriage of Shoba and Shukumar?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss how the narrator in "The Third and Final Continent is an archetype of the male Indian-American immigrant and the irony presented by the dream he has for his son.

Essay Topic 3

What commentary on American life is Lahiri making through the plots and characters of her collection of stories?

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