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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 must the narrator take Nitin back to the guesthouse?

2. Why is Nitin Bose coming to the guesthouse?

3. When one renounces the world, how long must one fast for?

4. What is the reason for the calmness of Tariq Mia's village?

5. How is Nitin protected from the struggles in India?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is the narrator's primary concern in Chapter 8?

2. In the doctor's opinion, is Nitin possessed and can he be cured?

3. What are the benefits of being a courtesan?

4. Does Nitin live a charmed life before he moves to the tea estate?

5. How does the woman in the market set up what is to come in Chapter 13?

6. What parallels can you draw between the woman in the market and Imrat?

7. How is Imrat a second chance for Master Mohan?

8. Why does Dr. Mitra think the narrator has contracted the "Indian disease" of making everything holy?

9. What is the role of the Narmada river in Chapter 5?

10. Why does Master Mohan kill himself?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss "immortality" in "A River Sutra". What role does it have? Which characters does it affect, and in what ways? Do all characters share the same beliefs about immortality? Why or why not?

Essay Topic 2

Several characters attempt suicide in "A River Sutra". Discuss this compulsion amongst characters.

Part 1) Success and failure.

Part 2) Individual situation and reason.

Part 3) A blanket, overall condition with enlightenment.

Essay Topic 3

Why is this narrator an appropriate or inappropriate vehicle for "A River Sutra"? What is Gita Mehta's purpose in using this man? What, larger than his own spiritual journey, is she conveying?

(see the answer keys)

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