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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. Where is the first place Ramun stops when he reaches La Paz?

2. How many pesos does the buyer(s) offer?

3. What tool does Ramun's father use to remove the disappointing characteristic?

4. Where has Ramun hidden his prized pearl?

5. What color is Soto Luzon's transportation?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. Why must Ramun and Luzon change their course when they are heading back to La Paz?

3. Which characters from the story ride in the Santa Theresa boat from the Salazar fleet?

4. Why does Ramun put the small pearls he found in the other half of the oyster shell?

5. What hangs over the water on the morning of Ramun's fourth day of learning to dive for pearls?

6. What is the first thing Ramun's father says to the other pearl dealers?

7. How is the Manta Diablo banished to the sea?

8. What is Ramun's motivation to give Soto Luzon more money for the black pearl that Luzon brings to the shop?

9. What does Ramun write in the ledger at the shop while he waits for his father's fleet to return?

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Ramun and his father both mention that the whole town benefits from the pearl trade. Using details from the text and classroom discussions, describe how the whole town benefited from the pearl business.

Essay Topic 2

Using details from the text and class discussions, compare and contrast the old wives tales of what the Manta Diablo looked like and the actual look of the Manta Diablo that Ramun witnessed and described in the story. How is the manta the same as the folktales, and how is it different from the tales?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss how the Pearl of Heaven was both a positive and a negative to the characters in the story. How is the pearl viewed as a positive force? How is the pearl viewed as a negative force? Do more characters in the story feel that the pearl is a positive or negative symbol?

(see the answer keys)

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