“The Shroud” and Other Short Stories Quizzes

"The Shroud" and Other Short Stories Quiz

By Samantha Demby · Edited by James Cooper · Last reviewed December 20, 2020

1 Why is eating the potatoes painful for Ghisu and Madhav?

Because they are unripe

Because they are burning hot

Because they are stolen

Because they are uncooked
2 How do Ghisu and Madhav obtain food to survive?

They sell grain at the market

They work as farmers

They steal money at the market

They steal food from others' fields
3 What kind of work does Budhiya do?

She is a cook

She is a merchant

She grinds grain

She is a farmer
4 How does the narrator describe Ghisu and Madhav's home?

A wood cabin with a fireplace

A hut with pracitcally no possessions

A middle-class urban apartment

A modest but well-kept home
5 What kind of jobs are available in Ghisu and Madhav's village?

Farming

Waste treatment

Factory labor

Metalwork
6 What is the Chamars a reference to?

Budhiya's family name

A group within the Indian caste system

Ghisu and Madhav's reputation as slackers

Ghisu and Madhav's actual profession
7 Madhav says he is afraid to check on Budhiya. What is he really afraid of?

That his father will leave him alone

That his father will finish eating all of the potatoes

That his father will steal his money while he's gone

That Budhiya will scold him
8 What does the narrator compare Ghisu and Madhav to when they fall asleep while Budhiya moans?

Elephants

Serpents

Raptors

Tigers
9 What are the only possessions that Ghisu and Madhav have in their home?

Clay pots

Ceramic vases

Straw hats

Cigarettes
10 What happens to Ghisu and Madhav when Budhiya begins to provide for them?

They begin to treat her better

They become lazier

They speak badly of her in the village

They seek work as farmers
11 Why does Madhav worry about having a child?

He is afraid a child will bring more conflict to the family

He is afraid Budhiya will leave him

They are too poor to provide for a child

He worries Budhiya will be a bad mother
12 What does the narrator comment about the peasants who labor all day or night?

They work for Sahib

They are organizing an uprising

They work growing wheat but can't afford to buy it

They are not much better off than Ghisu and Madhav
13 Why is Ghisu not fully a trickster?

He is too stupid to be a trickster

He is too smart to be a trickster

He does not follow the rules of the tricksters to improve his social position

He is still a peasant
14 Why does Ghisu remember the wedding procession from twenty years ago?

Because he drank a whole bottle of liquor

Because it was the only time he was truly full and satisfied

Because that it where he met his wife

Because that is when he gained a bad reputation
15 What kind of language does the narrator use to describe Madhav's discovery that Budhiya has died?

Cold, distanced, mildly disgusting

Heart-broken and depressed

Defeated, exhausted, tragic

Regretful and apologetic
16 What is the landlord Sahib's reaction to Ghisu and Madhav?

He consoles them over Budhiya's death

He donates money in exchange for the men's work

He wishes to send them away but donates money anyway

He tells them to beat it and never come back
17 How much money do Ghisu and Madhav manage to collect?

Twenty dollars

Five rupees

Five dollars

Twenty rupees
18 Why do Ghisu and Madhav feel the shroud is unnecessary?

Because Budhiya asked for the simplest funeral possible

Because it will be nighttime and the shroud will burn anyway

Because no one in Budhiya's family was buried with a shroud

Because only certain traditions require a shroud
19 What crops do Ghisu and Madhav steal from other's fields?

Spinach, tomatoes and lettuce

Ginger and radishes

Potatoes, peas and sugar cane

Wheat and corn
20 How long have Madhav and Budhiya been married?

Five years

One year

Three years

Ten years
21 How does Ghisu describe his wife when she is dying in labor?

Writhing and thrashing

Feverish and ill

Relieved of her suffering

Suffering unfairly
22 What items are necessary for Budhiya's funeral?

Grain and fine cloth

A ceramic vase and flowers

Clay pots and incense

Wood, a shroud, and bamboo poles
23 Why does Ghisu indicate it is hypocritical to require a new shroud for the dead?

Because not every funeral requires a shroud

Because the shroud will hide Budhiya's suffering

Because an old shroud would be sufficient

Because the poor aren't even properly clothed when they're alive
24 Why does the narrator compare showing compassion to Ghisu and Madhav to dying a black blanket?

Because Ghisu and Madhav try to hide their poverty

Because their clothes are dyed black from filth

Because it is an impossible act

Because the act will be repaid
25 How does Ghisu convince the villagers to donate money?

By promising to repay them

By threatening them if they refuse

By telling them the well-reputed landlord Sahib donated

By reminding them of all the hard work he's done for the village

Lesson Plan for “The Shroud” and Other Short Stories

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