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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 was unique about the prostitute picked up by the tattooed American?

2. What were the Buddhist monks doing when Theroux encountered them in Mandalay in Chapter 17?

3. How much time did Theroux have to board the train to Sapporo in Aomori?

4. What festival was being celebrated as Theroux arrived in Calcutta in Chapter 16?

5. How did celebrants mark the banned festival?

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe the Kali religious festival from Chapter 16.

2. What image was brought to mind by the sight of the Japanese workers doing mass calisthenics?

3. Why were there no skiers on the mountain in Japan, despite the large amount of perfect snow?

4. How did Theroux describe the clothes laundering he witnessed from the trains in Asia?

5. What common prostitution story did Theroux hear numerous times during his travels and how did the story told in Laos differ?

6. Why did Theroux say that the Malay smile was misleading?

7. Why did Theroux find the Singapore government's prediction of electronic connectedness so disturbing?

8. What are the differences between Japanese and American consumers?

9. Who were the American-looking children Theroux saw throughout Vietnam?

10. Why did Mr. Lau dislike Kuala Lumpur?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Theroux encountered phenomenal levels of censorship in Singapore. How did the strong central government control of people's lives affect their personalities? Do you think the control caused the Singaporeans to be rude and aggressive, as Theroux found them to be? Or did their traditional behavior simply make it easier for the government to control them? Theroux wrote that freedom would be threatened by the Singaporean focus on connecting everyone electronically. How do you think Theroux would view the Internet? Has his concern about reduced freedoms come true or have people been able to avoid government control despite the impact of computers?

Essay Topic 2

In Vietnam, Theroux wrote that his impression of American involvement had been doomed because we had no intention of staying. Therefore, we never developed a vision of what kind of nation we would leave behind, and the Vietnamese emerged damaged and abandoned. Do you believe the U.S. could have achieved its objectives had we remained in the country for a longer period of time? What responsibility did Theroux suggest a nation had to stay and rebuild another nation after involving itself in a military mission?

Essay Topic 3

In his descriptions of some of the railway stations through which he traveled, Theroux made it clear that many of the stations were ornate and reflected either the culture of the nation or the culture of the former colonial authority. Write an essay outlining how countries use railway station architecture to highlight their unique cultures. Does the effort to incorporate local styles help provide visitors with a better sense and appreciation of the country? What do you think Theroux could have learned from stations without any unique cultural aspects? What impact would homogenization have? Would it make all cultures seem similar?

(see the answer keys)

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