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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 does La Garduña do for a living?

2. What does the old gringo have marking his grave?

3. What does the old gringo fear will happen to Harriet while in Mexico?

4. From whom were the land grants to the Mexican people?

5. Which military character does the old gringo think will test him more than any other character in the novel?

Short Essay Questions

1. How did La Luna succeed in saving the life of Arroyo during the early stages of the revolution?

2. How do the guerrilla soldiers react to seeing the mirrors in the ballroom?

3. Where does Colonel Frutos García find the old gringo?

4. What reaction does Harriet have to seeing that the jewels she has set out have vanished?

5. What does the old gringo carry with him when he travels?

6. Why did Harriet and her mother move from New York to Washington D.C.?

7. What childhood memory does Arroyo have of don Graciano?

8. Who is General Fierro?

9. What is the old gringo's first reaction to Harriet Winslow when he sees her in a crowd?

10. How has Harriet come to be alone in Mexico?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The old gringo has many names in the course of the novel: the old gringo, the American, and Ambrose Bierce. Explain how the old gringo gained each of these three names, and explain what each of the names means to him as a character.

Essay Topic 2

The old gringo comes to view many of the characters in the novel as his children as he feels a very paternal bond with them. Choose two characters that the old gringo has this bond with and explain the nature of the relationships. Then, compare and contrast the relationship the old gringo has with these characters to the relationship he has with his real children in California.

Essay Topic 3

Marksmanship among the male characters in the novel is thought to be the highest skill of strength. Choose two scenes in which marksmanship of characters is evaluated, and explain why this skill would be so heavily sought in the Mexican Revolution.

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