Comprehension Questions

1. Rushdie uses a lot of colloquial expressions littered through the dialogue in this story to give a distinctive tone to the characters. Make a list of the words that you don't understand. Once you finish the story try searching online. How many of the words can you find definitions for? Can you still understand what they're saying even if you don't understand every single word?
   
   
2. The plot of the story hinges on the assassination of the Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. Do some research and write a one or two paragraph summary of what happened and what it had to do with Sikhs in your own words.
   
   
3. Summarise Chekov's views about British colonialism.
   
   
4. Why does Zulu decide to quit the secret service?

Writing Tasks

1. Write a page of dialogue between two characters that uses a lot of colloquial expressions. They can be words from different languages (this would work especially well if the characters are migrants), or slang expressions that not everybody would be familiar with (keep it clean, though!).
   
   
2. Describing characters and settings: read the description of Chekov on pages 153-154 and his comments about London on the next page following his exclamation, “God, I love London!” Now write your own description of a character; include physical characteristics, their clothing, their manner of speaking and other elements you think will bring them to life. Then start with the phrase, “God, I love Melbourne!” and write a list of features of the city that you love. Use these fragments as the basis for a short story about your character.
   
   
3. Rushdie structures the story in three sections: he opens with Chekov visiting Zulu's wife on November 4, 1984; the second section goes back to August of the same year and brings us back to just before the beginning of the first section; the third section begins three months later before jumping to May, 1991. Write a short story that uses a similar structure: starting at a crucial point with an element of mystery, going back in time to lead up to that event, and finally providing details of the aftermath.