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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. Who is described as having gotten an orange seed stuck in his nose in "Under the House"?

2. What are the ages of the Garcias' children in "The Little Burnt Victims"?

3. Who does the narrator say is the only devil in "Under the House"?

4. What color does the portrait salesman suggest making the uniform in "The Portrait"?

5. Who is the man that Ramon's girlfriend starts seeing while he is away in "Out"?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why is Dona Maria arrested in "The Night Before Christmas"? How does she get out of jail?

2. How does one character describe the clerk's response when he ordered hamburgers in "When We Arrive"? Why did the clerk have this response?

3. Why does the boy give the teacher a button in "The Teacher Was Surprised When..."? Why does this surprise her?

4. Why does Bartolo pass through town every December?

5. Who do the characters surmise probably turned Figueroa in, in "They Let Figueroa Out..."?

6. How is the information relayed to the reader largely in "The Night the Lights Went Out"? Why do you think the author chooses this narrative style?

7. Who buys a portrait in "The Portrait"? Who is the portrait of?

8. What is remarked about the protagonist as he walks away in "Under the House"?

9. What does the narrator do after fleeing from his home in "First Communion"?

10. What has Dona Maria always told her children about Santa Clause in "The Night Before Christmas"?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Describe the characters of Don Laito and Dona Bone in "Hand in His Pocket." How are these characters perceived by the community? What observations does the narrator make about these characters? Would you consider these characters protagonists or antagonists? Why?

Essay Topic 2

Why does the minister come talk to the laborers in "One Afternoon a Minister..."? What does he promise them? Why do the laborers never receive the promise made by the minister?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the author's inclusion of "vignettes" throughout And the Earth Did Not Devour Him. What is illustrated through these vignettes? How do these vignettes shape the mood and tone of the novel?

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This section contains 775 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample