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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 is the original name of the hydroplane that Pantoja and the Special Service are allowed to use?

2. Where does Leonor hope Pantoja's assignment will take them?

3. What has Poncio had people doing in Pantoja's workspace before he arrives?

4. How many prostitutes will be on staff in Pantoja's special service?

5. The mayor of what city presents the Army with a petition asking for veterans to be allowed to receive services from the SSGFRI?

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe the nightmare Pantoja has about the Special Services in Chapter 2.

2. Why does it take Pantoja and his crew a week to turn the Itaya depot into a suitable work space?

3. Why does Pantoja begin receiving complaints from military posts?

4. What does Pocha tell Chichi about Leonor's following of Brother Fransisco?

5. What does Pocha say in a letter to her sister Chichi in Chapter 3?

6. What instructions does Air Force Colonel Andrés Sarmiento Segovia give about a hydroplane called Delilah?

7. What is Pantoja's job in Iquitos?

8. What is the issue that Pantoja is being sent to the small city of Iquitos to handle?

9. What is Dispatch Number 2?

10. What is Dispatch Number One?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Explore the use of secondary characters in the novel. Why do you think the author introduces them all so soon in the narrative? What purpose might this serve? What purpose do the secondary characters serve? Why are there so many of them? What point is the author trying to make?

Essay Topic 2

Explore the significance of the religious sect, the Brothers of the Ark. What does the sect seem to represent? What narrative function does the sect serve? How is the sect described throughout the novel? What seems to be the overall tone around the sect? What techniques does the author use to portray the sect? What seems to be the significance of the sacrifices and other violent acts?

Essay Topic 3

What is the significance of Olga's murder to the rest of the novel? Why do you think Olga is killed off in the story? Are you surprised by her fate? Why or why not? How does her murder move the plot of the story along? Do you think it is significant that her murder is the result of a botched plan to kidnap and rape her? Why do you think Vargas Llosa chooses to kill her this way and not actually be purposefully be murdered by Moray and his men?

(see the answer keys)

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