Good Advice is Rarer than Rubies

Did Miss Rehana intentionally answer the questions incorrectly at the Consulate? Or was she turned away because Mustafa Dar is a stranger to her, and she truly could not answer the questions with accuracy?

The story unfolds in close third person, allowing readers access only to Muhammad Ali’s thoughts. Is his perspective reliable? If not, how does it nevertheless contribute to the story’s meaning?

Consider the kinds of questions that, according to Muhammad Ali, the Consulate asks the Tuesday women. What is the significance of these questions? What do they reveal about the Consulate? What is the effect of Muhammad Ali posing them?

Muhammad Ali eventually offers Miss Rehana the passport and begs her to take it or leave and spare her dignity. What is Muhammad Ali’s motivation in doing so? How and why does Miss Rehana affect him?

There are many characters who only make a short appearance or are only mentioned quickly by the narrator. What does their inclusion add to the story?

Discuss the significance of the shantytown in which the majority of the story takes place.

The narrator references eyes multiple times in the narrative. What do eyes symbolize in this story?

Write about the complexity of identity in the narrative as it relates to auxiliary characters in the story. Consider, for example, the fact that the Pakistani lalas operate as arms of the British Consulate, or the fact that the characters refer to the Consulate officials as sahibs.