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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. Why does Rocamadour move in with Maga and Horacio in Chapter 19?

2. In Chapter 17, what does Ossip tell Maga is Horacio's problem?

3. In Chapter 7, what part of La Maga is Horacio sketching with his finger?

4. Over time, what does La Maga fantasize Horacio will do during sex?

5. What famous American litigator is quoted in Chapter 117?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is Horacio doing in the Ponts des Arts in Chapter 1?

2. What awful event does Maga describe in Chapter 15?

3. What point regarding observation does Horacio make in Chapter 84?

4. Why does Ossip apologize to Maga in Chapter 24?

5. What is Rocamadour's place in La Maga and Horacio's relationship?

6. Describe Ossip Gregorovius.

7. Why does Horacio get slapped by Bertha Trepat in Chapter 23?

8. Why does La Maga feel responsible for Pola's death in Chapter 27?

9. What is Ossip's diagnosis of Horacio in Chapter 16?

10. What criticism does Maga make of Horacio at the end of Chapter 3?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The novel of HOPSCOTCH is largely a novel about ideas and flights of bohemian fancy, but existent above and below the would-be sweet life of the narrative is the omnipresent specter of death. Write an essay about death in the novel, focusing on three instances of it. How do the characters struggle and strive to ignore mortality in the novel? How does every instance of it in the narrative seem to shatter some delicate balance? What is destroyed by it?

Part 1) Rocamadour

Part 2) Pola

Part 3) The end of the novel.

Essay Topic 2

Julio Cortazar juxtaposed two couples in the novel: Horacio and La Maga, and Manolo and Talita Traveler. Write an essay comparing and contrasting these couples and exploring how the author juxtaposes them. How do both intensely doubt the validity of their love? What is their reason for feeling this way? Which seems to be the stronger couple? In summation, why do you think one relationship survives and the other falls apart?

Essay Topic 3

HOPSCOTCH takes place in two large but intensely disparate cities: Paris and Buenos Aires. These two settings, and Horacio's attitude toward them, create two divergent tones within the novel. Write an essay about these two settings:

Part 1) What observations about the intellectual life in Paris does Horacio make at the beginning of the novel? How does this observation typify his attitude toward it as a setting? Write a paragraph noting several characters, locations and groups that represent the Paris of the novel.

Part 2) How is Buenos Aires markedly different from Paris in HOPSCOTCH? What is the tone of this setting, based upon the weather, the social gatherings, and the way in which Horacio must live in both? How is Buenos Aires more whimsical?

Part 3) Noting the differences between Paris and Buenos Aires above, write a summation paragraph discussing how the transition between the two locations indicates a shift in Horacio. What is the nature of this shift, and how does it affect him emotionally?

(see the answer keys)

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