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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 Chapter 4, what new information about herself does La Maga tell Horacio?

2. In Chapter 2, what does Horacio say would be as easy as writing a story about La Maga?

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

4. According to Horacio in Chapter 124, what generally happens to Morelli's characters?

5. In Chapter 16, who joins Horacio in mocking Maga's story?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. What is Maga doing when Horacio arrives in Chapter 28?

3. How does Horacio's state of mind change over the course of this section?

4. What is Horacio's goal for living in Paris?

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

6. How is the reader made aware of Rocamadour's death in Chapter 28?

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

8. Why does Horacio become resentful of La Maga in Chapter 12?

9. What conversation regarding their relationship do Maga and Horacio have in Chapter 20?

10. In Chapter 115, what surrogate experience does Morelli describe?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The motif of madness permeates the second book of HOPSCOTCH to the point that by the end even the reader is unsure what is real and what is not. Write an essay on the topic of madness, focusing on the character of Horacio. What begins his spiral away from sanity? How does encroaching madness manifest itself at first, and how does it accelerate when he begins to work at the mental hospital? In the end, how is Horacio unable to process reality?

Essay Topic 2

Horacio Oliveira is a callous, self-involved, deeply-jealous individual. He is, however, the novel's protagonist, and Cortazar reveals both his flaws and virtues through a series of foils. Write an essay about three of these foils. How does Horacio know each of them? What is the nature of the conflict that exists between him and each foil? What does this conflict reveal about both Horacio and the foil?

Part 1) La Maga

Part 2) Ossip Gregorovius

Part 3) Manolo Traveler

Essay Topic 3

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?

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