Q & A

Use these questions or activities to help gauge students’ familiarity with and spark their interest in the context of the work, giving them an entry point into the text itself.

Short Answer

What is the caste system? What is the connection between the caste system and socioeconomic status in India? How was the caste system reinforced by colonialism? What is an “untouchable,” and how might one become untouchable?

Teaching Suggestion: Thomas, the protagonist of the novel, is abandoned as a child and lives among the poorest in India. These sources provide contextual information about the social class system in India and the hardships of the lower caste that will help students better understand the characters and setting of the story.

• This article outlines the caste system in India, its origins, and how it influences social class.
• This 4-minute video relays one woman’s experience as an “untouchable,” the lowest caste in India. 

Short Activity

Use scholarly sources to investigate and explore topics, conflicts, and setting concerns in the novel. Use the questions below to guide your research, and take notes on what you discover. Consider the ways in which the information connects to plot events and character arcs as you read.

• What are bribes, and how might the practice of bribery challenge or debilitate societal infrastructure?
• What kind of organizations collect most of the bribes in India?
• Why do experts believe rape culture is prevalent in India? How do some sources suggest that police authorities are sometimes complicit in these crimes? 
• Why are women often silent after being victimized?

Teaching Suggestion: In the novel, Thomas wins a game show but is arrested after being accused of cheating because the game show could not afford to pay him the money he earned. Throughout the story, Thomas also witnesses sexual assaults. Consider discussing bribery and corruption in general as well as ways these or other sources might discuss these problems in India; sources might also discuss how bribery and corruption have played a role in India’s rape crisis. (Content Warning: These sources may not be appropriate for all students.)

• This article offers one story regarding corruption, bribes, and politics.
• This article relates the prevalence of bribes in India according to a national corruption report.
• This article describes India’s rape crisis.

Personal Connection Prompt

This prompt can be used for in-class discussion, exploratory free-writing, or reflection homework before reading the novel.

Consider a time when you recognized corruption in government or another position of authority. Where and how did you learn of it? How did the corruption make you feel? What impact has corruption had on your life or personal experiences, or those of others? Do you think many organizations are corrupt on some level? Does corruption arise from individuals who are in that position, or is it a learned behavior that comes with the position of power?

Teaching Suggestion: Students may wish to complete additional research on bribery and corruption in their own government at the national or state level. Discussion might surround how the impact of national corruption might “trickle down” to the local level.

Differentiation Suggestion: Students who would benefit from additional practice in researching narrow topics might investigate the topic of bribery and corruption in American or world history. Students seeking a deeper level of critical thinking could strive to explore whether there is such a thing as acceptable or legal bribery, and generate examples (e.g., lobbying). 

DURING READING