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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. Before the narrator left London, where did he arrange to meet Ila?

2. When was Tridib's birthday?

3. What month did the narrator fly back to Delhi after he came to London for a study fellowship?

4. After Ila's wedding and the narrator stayed at May's flat, what did she fix him for breakfast?

5. How much taller was Kerry than the narrator?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does Nick say that he left his job in Kuwait?

2. After the narrator spent the night at May's after Ila's wedding, what did she fix him for breakfast and why did she not eat?

3. What did May and the narrator do after breakfast the morning after he stayed at her flat?

4. What is Brick Lane like when the narrator visits with Nick and Ila?

5. What happened when the narrator went to school in 1964 shortly after Tadib, May, and Tha'mma went to Dhaka?

6. How did Alan Tresawsen die?

7. What does Nick do for Ila and her housemates?

8. What happened when Tridib, May, and the narrator were driving to the Diamond Harbor?

9. How did Mike die?

10. What did Tridib think of May when he saw her as a baby?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Tridib is a strong influence on the narrator. Why does Tridib have a strong influence on the narrator? What type of relationship does the narrator have with Tridib?

Essay Topic 2

Tha’mma retired from her job at a girls’ high school when the narrator was ten. Was Tha’mma looking forward to retirement? Why did she find the adjustment difficult?

Essay Topic 3

Ila, Robi, and the narrator go to a nightclub. Why is Robi upset with how Ila behaves at the nightclub? What does his attitude reveal about gender roles in India at that time?

(see the answer keys)

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