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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 the beginning of Chapter 6, whom does Carlos imagine at the window?

2. Which philosopher does Carlos despise?

3. Who loans Carlos her glasses in Chapter 19?

4. What holiday is mentioned in the first sentence of Chapter 2?

5. On what does Carlos get drunk in Chapter 6?

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe what Carlos sees at the dining room window in Chapter 6.

2. Explain one of the lessons on hell that is described in Chapter 19.

3. According to Chapter 7, what happened to Cuba after Fidel came to power?

4. In Chapter 2, who is the man who hides behind Marie Antoinette, and what happens to him?

5. Who is Mel Blanc, and how does Carlos feel about him?

6. Where does Carlos see the Cuba-shaped clouds, and how does he feel about them?

7. With regard to Fernando's prison term, what does "rehabilitation" mean?

8. Explain what happens when people begin to shout "paredón."

9. Explain Carlos's third proof for the existence of God, as related in Chapter 11.

10. Why does Louis XVI wish he could have afforded to be Pilate in the church murals?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

How does the breadfruit war function as a catharsis in the novel? What are the events that build tension before and after the war? How would the scene have seemed different if it had been placed somewhere separate from those tensions?

Essay Topic 2

Compare and contrast the personal and professional lives of Fidel.

Essay Topic 3

How does the Aquarium of the Revolution mitigate Carlos's highly negative picture of Communism? Is it enough to make the reader believe that Communism has good points? Explain.

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