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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 does Asghar tell Begam Shahbaz when she tells him that he needs to show Bilqeece more affection?

2. What does Bilqeece make Begam Shahbaz promise her in Part III, Chapter 10?

3. When Begam Jamal tells Begam Shahbaz about Asghar's plan to marry Zohra, what is Begam Shahbaz's reaction?

4. Who goes home with Asghar on the night in June when Bilqeece's heath takes a turn for the worse?

5. What work is Begam Nihal engaged in when Asghar comes to speak to her about Zohra in Part IV?

Short Essay Questions

1. Explain why Begam Nihal falls on the stairs and what is done for her afterward.

2. Explain what Mir Nihal's grandchildren do that makes him so angry, and tell how he responds to their misbehavior.

3. What complaints does the narrator make against the grave diggers, cloth merchants, and body washers?

4. When Bilqeece is near death in Chapter 11, who does Asghar send for, and what does this person tell them?

5. In Chapter 7, when Bilqeece finally musters the courage to ask Asghar what is wrong, what does he tell her, and how does she react?

6. Describe what happens to Mir Nihal when he gets home after seeing the funeral procession.

7. What does the narrator say about prayers and God in the context of the pandemic?

8. How does Bilqeece's upbringing make it difficult for her to return Asghar's passion?

9. What are Saeed Hasan's views about Indian independence, and why?

10. What happens with the paste of "herbs and drugs good for the complexion" (119)?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write an essay in which you affirm, refute, or qualify the following statement: "Asghar's inability to appreciate his wife until actually faced with losing her parallels the residents' of Delhi's inability to appreciate the importance of their way of life until it is threatened with annihilation." Support your claims with evidence from the text.

Essay Topic 2

Write an essay in which you analyze the importance of setting in Twilight in Delhi. Support your assertions with evidence from the text.

Essay Topic 3

Write an essay in which you analyze the significance of Asghar's and Mirza's responses to the children tormenting the mentally ill woman in Chapter 4 of Part I; what does this incident show about both of their characters, and how is it linked to later developments in their characterization? Support your claims with evidence from the text.

(see the answer keys)

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