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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What is the song Benare is singing when she returns from the bathroom about?
(a) Flowers.
(b) A parrot and a sparrow.
(c) A parrot and a crow.
(d) A crow and a sparrow.

2. Why does Rokde say Rawte is missing, too, in Act One?
(a) He is teaching late at the university.
(b) He is sick with flu.
(c) He missed the train.
(d) He is buying garlands for his wife's hair.

3. What books does Sukhatme say they have for the oath-taking in the mock trial?
(a) The Bhagavad Gita and the Oxford English Dictionary.
(b) The Bible and the Koran.
(c) The Bible and the Bhagavad Gita.
(d) The Bible and the Oxford English Dictionary.

4. What does Benare say the mock trial that day will be about?
(a) A case against President Johnson for producing atomic weapons.
(b) Two parents who treat their foster child like a slave.
(c) A man who prides himself on his book learning.
(d) A group of educators who bully a coworker out of jealousy.

5. How does Benare react when Ponkshe tells her she has been accused?
(a) She stiffens.
(b) She leaves the room.
(c) She laughs.
(d) She cries.

Short Answer Questions

1. How does Samant respond to Benare's calling him "lovely"?

2. Who does Sukhatme say will play the fourth witness in Rawte's place?

3. What role do the characters argue about in Act One?

4. What does Samant call Benare that offends her in Act one?

5. What does Sukhatme propose the characters do to pass the time in Act One?

Short Essay Questions

1. Benare asks the other characters to sit like children because she is going to tell them a story. Then, she recites half a poem to them before changing to a song. Describe the other characters’ responses to her and what her performance says about her character.

2. Samant enters carrying a lock and key and asks Benare if she caught her finger in the lock when he sees she is sucking on her finger. How does this foreshadow what happens later in the play?

3. In the opening scene, Benare sings a song in English about a “sweetheart” who “likes my looks” and “wants to marry me.” More than an innocent children’s song, the song may provide insights into Benare’s character and situation. Explain how the song foreshadows what is revealed about Benare later in the play.

4. Benare recites a poem she used to write on the first page of every book she had when she was a schoolgirl. Describe how the poem foreshadows what is later revealed in the play.

5. In the opening scene, Benare tells Samant about Kashikar, Mrs. Kashikar, Rokde, Sukhatme, Ponkshe, and Damle without naming them directly. Describe the tone with which Benare speaks about the other characters.

6. Benare talks about what she was like as a child. Contrast her description of her childhood self to the way she is in the play.

7. Benare has a habit of teasing Ponkshe. Select and describe specific examples of how she makes fun of him.

8. When Benare states that she often plays games with the children at school, explain how this contradicts her earlier statements about her teaching.

9. Kashikar repeatedly verbally abuses his wife and son throughout the course of the play. Describe specific examples of how Kashikar is abusive toward his wife.

10. Mrs. Kashikar has a garland that her husband bought her but says she forgot to buy one for Benare. What does the garland symbolize?

(see the answer keys)

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