Name: _________________________ | Period: ___________________ |
This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.
Short Answer Questions
1. According to the students in Chapter 4, where did Adam and Eve live?
2. A statue of which saint resides at Aunt Carmela's house?
3. On what does Carlos get drunk in Chapter 6?
4. What is the name of the beggar in Carlos's neighborhood?
5. What do the Cuban children call their birthday cakes?
Short Essay Questions
1. What are the instructions that come with receiving a key to the family pantheon?
2. Explain one of the lessons on hell that is described in Chapter 19.
3. What happens when the police stop Fernando's car in Chapter 26?
4. How do Louis XVI's staff members treat him and his family? Why?
5. Describe the incident in which the boys try to send something into orbit.
6. What are the various Christmas traditions at the Nieto house, as described in Chapter 10?
7. Who is Mel Blanc, and how does Carlos feel about him?
8. Explain Carlos's third proof for the existence of God, as related in Chapter 11.
9. Explain what happens when people begin to shout "paredón."
10. Describe Havana on New Year's Eve, as portrayed in Chapter 1. What has happened to affect the city this way?
Essay Topics
Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:
Essay Topic 1
Describe the relationship between history and memory in this book. In your opinion, is this book more about Carlos's memories or more about history? Explain your thoughts, using as much detail from the text as you can remember.
Essay Topic 2
How does Fernando fit the archetype of the hero? What other characters in the book also seem like heroes, and how do they compare and contrast with Fernando?
Essay Topic 3
How does the breadfruit war function as a catharsis in the novel? What are the events that build tension before and after the war? How would the scene have seemed different if it had been placed somewhere separate from those tensions?
This section contains 805 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) |