The Autumn of the Patriarch Test | Final Test - Hard

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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. How did the General rise to power?

2. Not even which of the following could restore a look of authority to the General's corpse?

3. What happens to Jose Ignacio Saenz de la Barra?

4. What happens as a result of the Vatican's decision in the cause of Bendicion Alvarado?

5. From what are the lepers under the rose bushes dying?

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe the encounter between the General and the school girl narrator in Chapter 6.

2. How does Leticia Nazareno's relationship with the General begin?

3. How is Bendicion Alvarado mourned?

4. Explain how the Caribbean Sea becomes U.S. property.

5. How does the General decide to restore the Church to the nation?

6. What are the contents of the sack which appears to be full of coconuts?

7. How does Leticia force the General to marry her?

8. Why does Leticia always receive inferior merchandise from the market?

9. What does Bendicion Alvarado try to tell the General as she is dying?

10. How does Jose Ignacio Saenz de la Barra attempt to undermine the General?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss the ending of the novel. Who concludes the novel? Why is it significant that the narrative ends with this voice? Why does the final page end with dates? What effect does this ending have on the novel as a whole? Consider the structure, motifs, and narrative structure in your answer. Support your argument using evidence from the text.

Essay Topic 2

Garcia Marquez has focused his novel entirely on a totalitarian dictator who maintains control over the nation for decades, if not centuries. As such, power is a central theme in the novel. What is Garcia Marquez's commentary on the nature of power, absolute power, and/or political power? How does the interplay of power between the General and various characters factor into this commentary? Support your answer with evidence from the text.

Essay Topic 3

Throughout the novel, Garcia Marquez introduces subtle commentary on the U.S. presence in Latin America. Identify the moments in which Garcia Marquez introduces his critique and discuss how he integrates it into the text. What is his central message concerning U.S. intervention or interference in Latin American politics? Which characters or events most consistently bolster this critique? Be sure to bolster your argument with details from the novel.

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