Interpreter of Maladies

1. What has caused the strain in Shoba and Shukumar’s relationship?

A) an affair

B) financial problems

C) a miscarriage

D) the death of a parent

2. Which detail shows the reader the strain in Shoba and Shukumar’s relationship?

A) They watch TV in separate rooms.

B) Shukumar frequently fantasizes about other women.

C) The house is in disrepair, and they’re making no effort to fix it.

D) There is a dwindling supply of homemade food provisions.

3. Why didn’t Shukumar tip the waiter on the couple’s first date?

A) He didn’t know it was customary in America.

B) He was distracted by thoughts of Shoba.

C) The waiter insulted him.

D) Shoba had already left a tip.

4. What circumstance leads Shoba and Shukumar to open up to each other each night?

A) a nightly planned power outage by the city

B) a suggestion from Shoba’s therapist friend

C) a broken stove that forces them to go out to eat

D) Their wedding anniversary

5. What does Shukumar carry with him for a week during Shoba’s pregnancy? (short answer)

6. What does Shukumar confess to Shoba after she reveals she is leaving him? (short answer)

7. Why is it odd that Mr. Pirzada visits Lilia’s family?

A) He does not speak the same language.

B) He is from a nation that is their political enemy.

C) He travels a long way to visit.

D) He ignores Lilia completely.

8. What is happening in East Pakistan in the fall of 1971 that matters to the story?

A) a famine

B) invasion by Russian forces

C) a growing war of independence

D) historic flooding

9. How is the smashed pumpkin on Lilia’s door a significant symbol?

A) It represents Mr. Pirzada’s anger with Lilia.

B) It represents the unfair cruelty Mr. Pirzada must endure.

C) It represents Lilia moving into adolescence.

D) It represents the way Americans treat immigrants.

10. What is Mr. Pirzada’s fate at the end of the story?

A) He is reunited with his family.

B) He leaves Lilia’s family distraught, and they never hear from him again.

C) He becomes a casualty of the tragedy transpiring in Dacca.

D) He stays in America and does not learn what happened to his family.

11. Why is Lilia chided by her teacher in the library? (short answer)

12. What is Lilia’s ritual with Mr. Pirzada’s gifts? (short answer)

13. What does Mr. Kapasi find strange about the Das family?

A) The parents act more like siblings than parents.

B) They don’t speak to each other.

C) They have never been to India before.

D) The children are very well behaved.

14. What impresses Mrs. Das about Mr. Kapasi’s life?

A) his knowledge of Indian culture

B) his expert driving

C) his fluency in several languages

D) his other job working as an interpreter

15. Why does Mr. Kapasi’s wife resent him?

A) He doesn’t earn enough money.

B) She blames him for the death of their son.

C) She wants to move to America.

D) Their arranged marriage was a poor fit.

16. What is Mr. Kapasi’s warning to the Das family?

A) The monkeys will steal from people.

B) The monkeys will harass people who don’t stay in a group.

C) Do not provoke the monkeys with food.

D) Do not make eye contact with the monkeys.

17. What is the secret that Mr. Kapasi learns from Mrs. Das? (short answer)

18. Why does Mrs. Das expect sympathy from Mr. Kapasi? (short answer)

19. What is Boori Ma’s living situation?

A) She sleeps in an alleyway near the building.

B) She sleeps in the entryway.

C) She sleeps on the roof every night.

D) She sleeps in the courtyard.

20. Why does Boori Ma leave her rugs on the roof?

A) She is busy cleaning and doesn’t notice the coming storm.

B) She wants them to get clean during the rainstorm.

C) She has been promised replacement bedding.

D) She is talking to a resident and does not want to be rude.

21. What causes the competition among tenants in the building?

A) the new basin that Mr. Dalal buys

B) Boori Ma’s sharing of secrets with some residents but not others

C) Mr. Chatterjee’s desire to improve the building

D) a weekly cricket game

22. Why don’t the residents believe Boori Ma when she returns home after being robbed?

A) She has stolen things before.

B) She is keeping secrets for Mr. and Mrs. Dalal.

C) She tells unbelievable stories about her past.

D) They resent her for being a refugee.

23. What does Boori Ma say her life was like before she arrived at the building? (short answer)

24. Why do the residents drive Boori Ma out of the building? (short answer)

25. Why is Laxmi’s cousin so upset?

A) Her son is struggling in school.

B) Her husband has left her for another woman.

C) Her father recently passed away.

D) She is trapped in a loveless marriage.

26. What’s appealing to Miranda about her relationship with Dev?

A) He is the first person she’s been with who is romantic toward her.

B) He is high status and offers her a financially-bright future.

C) He gives her extravagant gifts.

D) He reminds her of an Indian movie star.

27. What about her affair with Dev disappoints Miranda?

A) The sex is unsatisfying.

B) He treats her poorly.

C) Their meetings are too routine.

D) He is ashamed of his behavior.

28. What is the symbolic importance of the snack mix Miranda is discouraged from buying?

A) It represents the way Indian culture and identity are not meant for her.

B) It represents her struggle to be fit and attractive to others.

C) It represents her loyalty to her friend Laxmi.

D) It represents the way men have always tried to control her.

29. Why does Miranda have complicated feelings about watching Rohin? (short answer)

30. Short Answer: Why is Rohin calling Miranda sexy an epiphany for her character? (short answer)

31. Why is Mrs. Sen struggling throughout the story?

A) She is bored without a job.

B) She does not speak English well enough to fit in.

C) She does not agree with traditional Indian marriage roles.

D) She has lost her connection to her family.

32. Why does Mrs. Sen play a tape of her family’s voices for Eliot?

A) because her grandfather has died

B) to teach him about Indian culture

C) so he can hear her native language

D) as background for her love of fresh fish

33. Why does Mrs. Sen decide to drive on her own?

A) She wants to be a good American.

B) She has been confronted for bringing fresh fish on the bus.

C) She wants to make her husband proud.

D) The bus is late and she has an appointment.

34. What happens after Mrs. Sen and Eliot get into an accident?

A) Eliot’s mother angrily confronts Mrs. Sen for her negligence.

B) Eliot is told he is old enough to stay home alone.

C) Eliot keeps the accident a secret.

D) Mrs. Sen’s injuries prevent her from watching Eliot.

35. What does Eliot’s mother think of Mrs. Sen? (short answer)

36. What does Mrs. Sen’s struggle with driving symbolize? (short answer)

37. How do Sanjeev and Twinkle come to know each other?

A) through an arranged marriage

B) at graduate school

C) through work colleagues

D) at a gathering of Indian immigrants

38. Why is Sanjeev annoyed when Twinkle makes a fish stew for dinner?

A) It’s not a traditional preparation.

B) She used the expired vinegar she found in the house.

C) She did not write down the recipe.

D) He does not care for it.

39. What is Twinkle’s profession?

A) aspiring actress

B) elementary school teacher

C) homemaker

D) graduate student of poetry

40. What troubles Sanjeev about the artifacts Twinkle wants to display?

A) He is worried she will convert to Christianity.

B) He believes they are dishonoring their culture.

C) He is worried about what other people will think.

D) He wants to return them to their original owners.

41. What do Sanjeev’s colleagues think of his wife? (short answer)

42. Why does Sanjeev hate the silver bust of Christ so much? (short answer)

43. What cure does a doctor prescribe for Bibi Haldar?

A) bed rest

B) marriage

C) exorcism

D) a new environment

44. How does Haldar try to help Bibi find a husband?

A) He takes out an ad.

B) He meets with a matchmaker.

C) He helps teach her how to be a good wife.

D) He gives her money for health and beauty products.

45. Why does Haldar’s wife force Bibi out of the house?

A) She is jealous of the attention Bibi is receiving.

B) She needs Bibi’s room for the baby.

C) She is angry with Bibi’s demands.

D) She is afraid Bibi’s condition is contagious.

46. Why does Haldar’s store go out of business?

A) Bibi sabotages the inventory.

B) Customers are fearful of Bibi’s condition being contagious.

C) Haldar’s products are inferior.

D) The townspeople stop shopping there in protest.

47. Why does Bibi’s father give up his teaching career? (short answer)

48. What cures Bibi, according to the townspeople? (short answer)