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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 do Ignacio and Blanco do for a living?

2. Where is Dulce hoping to visit as soon as her visa is approved?

3. In what level of his education does Ignacio meet Dr. Samuel Forrest?

4. What animal does Blanca feel fly past her neck?

5. How many volumes of books does Reina keep in her apartment?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why doesn't Reina want to work in Constancia's new factory?

2. How do Reinaldo and Soledad Vaerla meet?

3. When does Constancia realize that her father, Ignacio, is lying to her about her mother's death?

4. What memory haunts Reina in regards to her mother's death and visiting her at the funeral home?

5. While working on an old car, what does Reina overhear about the exiles in Cuba?

6. Why does Silvestre arrive in Miami?

7. How does Constancia react to the birth of her sister, Reina?

8. How does Blanca's mother die?

9. Why does Pepin bring a rooster into Reina's hospital room?

10. What happens when Herberto decides to go fishing in Biscayne Bay?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Ignacio is presented in the novel as a man who takes advantage of others in order to further his own career. Explain how Ignacio charmed his way into a luxurious life, and ultimately, what the effects of a swindler's life had on his existence.

Essay Topic 2

The Cuban revolution plays a small role in the background of the novel. How does the Cuban Revolution affect the main characters, the Aguero sisters, during the course of this novel? What symbolic importance does the war have on what is happening in the sisters' lives? Why might Cristina Garcia have chosen to include it in the novel?

Essay Topic 3

Ignacio Aguero had a string of lies that he fed his daughters in regards to their mother's death. Create a time line of Ignacio's lies and describe how they changed and grew as his daughters aged. Then, explain how the constant lies affected the relationships both Reina and Constancia had with their father.

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