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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. How old is Ram Charan's sister?
(a) 15.
(b) 16.
(c) 14.
(d) 13.

2. What does Bakha criticize his brother for when they are eating?
(a) Eating with dirty hands.
(b) Dropping food on the floor.
(c) Chewing with his mouth open.
(d) Being greedy with the food.

3. What does Bakha do after he sits down in the alley where he has been unable to get any attention from the houses?
(a) He prays.
(b) He falls asleep.
(c) He plots revenge against the priest.
(d) He begins to weep.

4. What was the family's purpose in putting Bakha on the floor when he was so ill?
(a) They were performing a ritual intended to solicit divine intervention.
(b) They needed space in the bed for the younger children.
(c) They wanted him to be able to die close to the earth.
(d) They hoped the cooler air near the floor would help with his fever.

5. Why does the little boy refuse to come down into the alley to defecate?
(a) He does not want to be near an outcaste.
(b) He wants his mother to bribe him with sweets.
(c) He thinks it is a rude way to treat Bakha.
(d) He is shy about doing it in public.

Short Answer Questions

1. How is Bakha feeling when he first arrives and surveys the happy wedding crowd?

2. Why does Bakha think that his father will not object to his leaving if he says he is going to see Ram Charan's sister's wedding?

3. Why does Bakha think there is a chance that Ram Charan will have skipped his sister's wedding?

4. Why does Bakha think that it is unlikely he will be able to lie to his father about the morning's events?

5. Why has Bakha decided that asking one of the NCO's for the solar topee is impractical?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why do the sweepers all spend so much time outdoors, even when they are not working?

2. What puzzles Bakha about his having had the courage to ask a sentry for the solar topee when he was a child, and why does it puzzle him?

3. What does Bakha tell himself about his decision to go to Ram Charan's sister's wedding, and what are his true motives?

4. Although Bakha is honored by Charat Singh's actions, in what sense are they also condescending and dismissive of Bakha's humanity?

5. What excuse does Bakha give for not bringing more food home, and how does his father's reply make him feel?

6. How does Chota react differently to Bakha's stories about the priest and the woman at the alley house?

7. What game does Bakha remember playing with his friends and Ram Charan's sister when they were young children?

8. What is the significance of Bakha asking Ram Charan to toss him a sugar plum instead of taking it himself?

9. When Bakha is lying under a tree outside the barracks, what does he decide about taking so much time away from work?

10. How does the first woman in the alley houses treat Bakha and the sadhu very differently?

(see the answer keys)

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