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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 holiday is mentioned in the first sentence of Chapter 2?

2. Carlos discusses which toys in the beginning of Chapter 25?

3. From what country is Carlos's grandfather Nieto?

4. A diorama of which place fills Carlos's dining room?

5. How do most of the men who are in the car in Chapter 26 die?

Short Essay Questions

1. In Chapter 20, how does Louis XVI deal with the man at the door?

2. What is the significance of the mamey pit to Carlos?

3. How do Louis XVI's staff members treat him and his family? Why?

4. What happened to Carlos's great-great-grandmother Butrón-Múgicas?

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

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

7. What happens when the police stop Fernando's car in Chapter 26?

8. Explain the gift exchange between Carlos and Aunt Lucía that is discussed in Chapter 18.

9. Why does Carlos wish he could have been a Viking?

10. How does Carlos feel about the poster he made in fourth grade?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Describe in detail Carlos's experiences with and feelings about lizards. What do the lizards symbolize? How does Carlos relate to them at various points in his life?

Essay Topic 2

How does Fernando fit the archetype of the hero? What other characters in the book also seem like heroes, and how do they compare and contrast with Fernando?

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.

(see the answer keys)

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