View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. How do the people in Ramun's town feel about the Manta Diablo?

2. Ramun and Luzon leave Luzon's house without doing what?

3. Why can't Luzon search the secret location with Ramun?

4. Who does Mr. Salazar ask Ramun to fetch when he sends him out during the negotiations?

5. How many layers of the pearl must be trimmed away?

Short Essay Questions

1. What tradition does Soto Luzon do every time he passes the cave?

2. Why does Soto Luzon not help Ramun when Ramun dives in the cave?

3. According to Ramun's mother, what does the Manta Diablo look like?

4. What conclusion does Ramun's father come up with about the giant pearl and its flaw before he cuts the pearl?

5. What simile does Ramun use to describe how fast the word about the pearl spreads through the town of La Paz?

6. Why do the mothers in Ramun's village tell their children tales of the Manta Diablo?

7. How does Ramun know that Soto Luzon is coming to visit Ramun at the pearl business?

8. At the beginning of Chapter Five, Ramun feels uneasy when Luzon and he enter Luzon's Lagoon. What does Ramun think is causing his uneasiness?

9. When Ramun dives for pearls in El Diablo's cave, why does he choose the nearest oyster?

10. What two errands must Soto Luzon take care of before Ramun and Luzon can leave for Luzon's Lagoon?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss how greed was a central theme to the story. How is greed represented in the story? Is there more than one type of greed presented? In what ways is Mr. Salazar greedy? How do the other characters react to each other's greed in the story?

Essay Topic 2

What effect do unnamed characters have on the story? Why would the author choose not to name some of the characters?

Essay Topic 3

Using the text to guide your answer, describe the lagoon belonging to Soto Luzon. How is the lagoon important to the progression of the story? What are some of the symbolic representations in the description of the lagoon that show the double meanings of the lagoon?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 624 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample