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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. In what month does Pocha leave Pantoja?

2. What unit is Pantoja assigned to after the Special Service is shut down?

3. Olga was raised in an orphanage run by whom?

4. For how many days are SSFGRI personnel stranded because of weather?

5. What is the name of the newspaper that reports Olga's death?

Short Essay Questions

1. What happens when Sinchi approaches Pocha at the airport when she is leaving Panjota?

2. How do members of the Army feel about Brother Francisco?

3. Describe Leonor's dream at the beginning of Chapter 10.

4. What is surprising about Olga's funeral?

5. Why do Navy members become upset with Pantoja and his operation?

6. How do other officers feel about Pantoja, according to Mendoza?

7. How does Olga die?

8. Describe "The Hymn of the Special Service."

9. What does Sinchi say about Pantoja on-air the first time he talks about him?

10. Why does Pantoja put on his uniform in Chapter 10?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What is the significance of the dream Pantoja has in which Olga becomes his wife? How does this dream seem to affect him while he is having it? What is the overall tone of the dream? How does he seem to feel about the women in his life in the dream? Why do you think the dream contains several instances of mistaken identity?

Essay Topic 2

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?

Essay Topic 3

What is the significance of the army's inability to keep the Secret Service a secret? When does it become clear that the mission is no longer being kept a tight secret? What seems to be the reason the secret gets out? Why do you think the army keeps adding more and more people to the circle of people who know about the mission? Why do you think they are not being more careful?

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