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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 Felicia marching at the start of Imagining Winter: The Meaning of Shells?

2. What does Celia agree to do if Gustavo does not respond to her letters?

3. Why does Celia feel Jorge betrays her?

4. What keeps Celia writing letters to Gustavo?

5. What does Celia do when she leaves the asylum?

Short Essay Questions

1. How did Celia's husband destroy one of their dining room chairs?

2. How does Celia know her husband has died?

3. What is significant about Celia's son being born with a caul?

4. How does Celia describe the environment that Lourdes was born in?

5. Why does Jorge allow his sister and mother to terrorize Celia?

6. What does Jorge reveal about Pilar when Lourdes is on her walk home from the bakery?

7. What commitment does Celia make after Jorge dies?

8. Why does Celia name her son after her father?

9. What confuses Celia about her success as a judge in the town cases?

10. Why must a goat be sacrificed to help Felicia?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Why does Celia write a letter to Gustavo each month? What experiences or memories is she trying to preserve? How is the voice she uses in her letters different from the voice she uses in everyday life?

Essay Topic 2

How do Celia's political views shape her parenting? How have Celia's children responded to her devotion to El Lider? How might her views influence her to stay in Cuba, rather than live in the U.S., where she could be closer to Pilar?

Essay Topic 3

Why does Lourdes overeat at the beginning of the novel? Why might Lourdes later feel a sudden need to be empty? What does Lourdes's weight represent in the novel?

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This section contains 660 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample