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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What famous American litigator is quoted in Chapter 117?

2. In Chapter 15, Horatio privately wonders whether his education has turned him into what?

3. Where is Guy Monod's mistress from?

4. By what controversial French thinker is the quote is Chapter 136?

5. What does Horacio admit to La Maga in Chapter 20?

Short Essay Questions

1. How do Maga and Horacio view the meaning of their precarious dates differently in Chapter 6?

2. What is Ossip's diagnosis of Horacio in Chapter 16?

3. Describe Ossip Gregorovius.

4. What news do Babs and Ronald bring to Maga's apartment in Chapter 28?

5. What is Maga doing when Horacio arrives in Chapter 28?

6. How does the Serpent Club relate to La Maga?

7. What event is taking place in this section?

8. Why are Maga and Horacio so affected by the fish in Chapter 8?

9. What is the Club's Principle problem with the theories of Morelli, as stated in Chapter 141?

10. How does Wong's torture photos affect Horatio's mood for the worse?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write an essay on the character of Rocamadour, La Maga's child. Begin by discussing his origins and his life after Maga comes to Europe. To what extent does Maga attempt to rid herself of the burden of raising him? What eventually brings him back to her? After analyzing Rocamadour's progress as a character, discuss his importance to the author. Does he function more as a character or a tool for driving story? How does his death affect everything that follows? Is the child mentioned after Horacio leaves Paris?

Essay Topic 2

The characters of HOPSCOTCH can almost universally be described as intellects. They read constantly that they may spend the rest of their hours debating text and theory. Write an essay about Cortazar's attitude toward theory in an essay in three parts:

Part 1) This fixation on theory is perhaps best illustrated with the protagonist, Horacio. Write an essay examining his obsession with texts and proofs. How does this fixation affect his everyday life? What criticism does he receive from his friends as a result?

Part 2) Spend a paragraph discussing the gatherings and discussions of the Serpent Club. What dialectical arguments do they have to pass the time, and why is La Maga so often ostracized from them? What prerequisites exist for inclusion?

Part 3) Book 1 seems to climax at a moment when, as Horacio observes, dialectical argument proves insufficient. What is this moment? How does this moment shatter the wall of theory built by the Club? What happens to the club as a result?

Essay Topic 3

What is the millenary kingdom? Write an essay about this prelapsarian concept, where it comes from, and how it connects thematically with the events of the novel. What does the millenary kingdom mean to both Morelli and Horacio? Why do Etienne and Ronald think that La Maga had some innate connection to it? How is the entire Serpent Club, to some extent, existing in its own millenary kingdom until Rocamadour dies? How does this death force them all to face harsh realities? Conclude the essay by discussing whether the millenary kingdom is seen as a positive or negative thing.

(see the answer keys)

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