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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 Roxane's music cause to happen?

2. What have all the hostages been told to do?

3. Why does Simon see his wife in a different light?

4. Why isn't the President at the performance?

5. What fateful decision does Father Arguedas make?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does Mr. Hosokawa decide to attend his own birthday party?

2. Why has Gen become incredibly busy during his stay at Ruben's house?

3. When the terrorists learn that the President is not at the birthday party, what happens?

4. Why is it important for Mr. Hosokawa to be at the birthday party?

5. How does Roxane begin to feel about Mr. Hosokawa?

6. As the hostages get used to their new home, what do they learn about their surroundings?

7. How does the novel begin and what mood is established?

8. Why does Messner become jealous of the hostages?

9. How does Joachim Messner feel about being at Ruben's house?

10. How old do the terrorists seem to be?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

How does the author establish Ruben's home as a prison and as an alternate reality?

What qualities about the home are likened to a prison? What about the home allows them to see it as a safe place.

Essay Topic 2

Patchett attempts to use foreshadowing a couple times throughout the book.

Do you believe that she effectively uses foreshadowing?

Give two examples of how she uses foreshadowing.

Essay Topic 3

As the guara settles over the house, it allows the hostages and terrorists to forget that they are on separate teams.

How is the guara a symbol for the unrealistic world that the hostages and terrorists now find themselves in?

Why does not being able to see outside of the house cause everyone to create their own worlds?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 740 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample