Memoir Assessment: "By Any Other Name"

What conflict do the sisters experience with the headmistress?

• She disapproves of their Indian clothing and food.

• She changes their names to make them easier for her to pronounce.

• She refuses to allow them to take their usual siesta.

• She does not want them to interact with the English children.

This questions has two parts: First answer Part A. Then, answer Part B.

Part A: What inference can you make about the author's sister, Premila?

• Premila worries about their mother's health.

• Premila is jealous of the other children at school.

• Premila thinks her sister is a burden.

• Premila tries to fit in at school.

Part B: Select that excerpt that best supports the answer to Part A.

• "My sister was always less easily intimidated than I was, and while she kept a stubborn silence, I said, 'Thank you,' in a very tiny voice." (paragraph 4)

• "You won't have them in your class today for donkey's years'. She had learned the expression that day and was using it for the first time." (paragraph 25)

• "Even at that age, it was apparent to all of us that friendship with the English or Anglo-Indian children was out of the question." (paragraph 27)

• "Mother looked very startled and very concerned and asked Premila what happened." (paragraph 36)

Identify what does the bolded word means based on the surrounding context.

"The building was Indian in design, with wide verandas opening onto a central courtyard, but Indian verandas were usually whitewashed, with stone floors."

• a roofed platform along the outside of a house, level with the ground floor.

• large, meticulously sculpted trees

• an entryway foyer

• a building with a purposeful cultural, architectural design

Identify what does the bolded word means based on the surrounding context.

"Premila didn't even look at her. She stood with her feet planted firmly apart and her shoulders rigid and addressed herself directly to me."

• stiff or fixed

• sloped and relaxed

• awkward or uncomfortable

• ready and prepared

Based on the last paragraph, explain how Santha views the conflict with the headmistress. How does this view fit the author's purpose for writing this coming-of-age memoir?

(Use textual evidence.)

What does the text suggest about how the experience of childhood is remembered? Consider the contrasts and contradictions you find in the text to develop your answer.

(Use textual evidence)