“Good Girls Are Bad News”- Questions and Essay Idea
1. Why does Bineeta smoke her first cigarette? Why is that first cigarette not her last? What do
you make of her motivations, in terms of being “good” or “good-time”?
 Bineeta smokes the first one for a bet to buy books. The first one isn’t her last because
she liked all of the attention, so she made another bet. She also wants to make a point
that just because you have the good girl image, doesn’t mean you won’t make any
mistakes. She thinks that being “good girl” is no fun, but being a “good time” girl is too
much work, so she wants to be both. Bineeta’s motivations to be a good girl were more
valued than taking the time to wear make-up and put on an act to attract boys. She was
raised being good, and she realized that being good was only convenient for her
parents.
2. In this text laced with references to Indian culture, what Western ways, products, and/or
artifacts are evident? How do the traditional and the borrowed seem to be accommodated by
the characters in the story?
 Lipsticks, nail polish, jeans, shaved legs, sleeveless blouses, Coca cola, ice cream, shorts
& t-shirt, cigarette brands were American,
 They are new to the Indian culture and so the contrast is dramatic between the two
 It represents how the older adults in the story are traditional while the younger
generation wants to add to the culture and adapt to Western culture
3. In Paragraph 38, Bineeta pronounces her opinions on who benefits from the rules for “good
girls” and who benefits from the rules for “good time girls.” How does she resolve to negotiate
these sets of rules; and, in your opinion, does her exchange with Pratap confirm or undercut this
resolve? What leads you to make this evaluation?
 The parents benefit from the good girl rules because it gives them a better image; being
good-time girl would benefit Beneeta because she’d be more popular and boys would
like her. The good girl could benefit Bineeta as well because she would stay out of
trouble. Men benefit from the “good-time girl”- they don’t want to marry them, but
want to show them off at parties
 She resolves it’s no fun being a good girl and too much work being a good time girl. So
she decides to be both.
 Her exchange with Pratap confirms this- she made the second bet with him to smoke
again but she used the money to buy books; she still stayed enrolled in school and
completed her exams.
4. In some strata of the United States culture, at least until recently (and some would argue this is
still the case), a “lady” does not smoke, or eat on the street? What are the rules in Bineeta’s
surroundings? If a young man were to do it, would the repercussions be the same? Were
Bineeta to have smoked at home, how would her parents have reacted?
 Rules for Bineeta are that good girls don’t smoke. If she had done it at home,
she would not be in as much trouble because it wouldn’t be in public. She still
would have got in trouble, but not as much.
 The expectations for girls were higher/ different, so a young man would not be
in as much trouble
 She has to be good all the time, there will always be consequences. She was
expected to be perfect. A man would have no consequences or very little. If she
were to do it at home, she could have more severe consequences
 Bineeta’s surroundings show that she lives in a strict culture with strict rules;
the older generation is not up to date- what’s so shocking is she comes from a
good family, with a good reputation and she’s never made a mistake before
 We know smoking by males in the culture is acceptable because Pratap provides
the cigarettes
Themes- the difference between gender roles in India; generation gaps, and clashing of modern vs.
tradition
Essay ideas: Character sketch of Bineeta and how she shows the gender roles/ symbols of Western
culture and how they show generation gap