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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. Who does Horacio call to talk about his dream in Chapter 100?

2. Where is Horacio at the very end of the first book?

3. What does Horacio do between Chapters 56 and 135?

4. What is revolutionary about the novel Morelli is writing in Chapter 154?

5. Which of the following is not among Talita's preferred reading materials?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does the Serpent Club's final gathering end?

2. How does Horacio get arrested at the Ponts des Arts in Chapter 36?

3. How is the prose style of Chapter 34 unusual?

4. How do Traveler and Horacio put Talita in a ridiculous position in Chapter 41?

5. What is revealed in the tape recording of Chapter 47?

6. What task does Morelli give Horacio and Etienne in Chapter 154?

7. What is revolutionary about Morelli's forthcoming book?

8. Describe Horacio's dream in Chapter 100.

9. What dream does Horacio have in Chapter 123, and what does Etienne take from it?

10. What legal formality takes place in Chapter 51?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write an essay about Manolo Traveler. What does he want out of life, and how does his position at the circus and in the community make this impossible? What does he fear regarding his marriage with Talita? Write an analysis of the delicate connection to happiness Manu has in his life and how how the destructive arrival of Horacio seems the imperil his very life. In the end, Talita thinks the madness brought by Horacio makes the marriage stronger. Why is this?

Essay Topic 2

An emotional change occurs in Horacio between the death of Rocamadour and Horacio's arrival in Buenos Aires. He tells Ossip he wants anonymity and develops a plan for his relationship with the Travelers. Write an essay about this shift from sensation to observation in Horacio. What does he want from Manu and Talita, and how does he go about getting it? Whom does he have to use in the process? Discuss how this attempt at dispassion eventually pushes him into a sort of madness. What is Cortazar saying about the need to express emotion, no matter how painful?

Essay Topic 3

The characters of HOPSCOTCH can almost universally be described as intellects. They read constantly that they may spend the rest of their hours debating text and theory. Write an essay about Cortazar's attitude toward theory in an essay in three parts:

Part 1) This fixation on theory is perhaps best illustrated with the protagonist, Horacio. Write an essay examining his obsession with texts and proofs. How does this fixation affect his everyday life? What criticism does he receive from his friends as a result?

Part 2) Spend a paragraph discussing the gatherings and discussions of the Serpent Club. What dialectical arguments do they have to pass the time, and why is La Maga so often ostracized from them? What prerequisites exist for inclusion?

Part 3) Book 1 seems to climax at a moment when, as Horacio observes, dialectical argument proves insufficient. What is this moment? How does this moment shatter the wall of theory built by the Club? What happens to the club as a result?

(see the answer keys)

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