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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 is Lorimer's first instinct at the news of the massacre up ahead?

2. What special talent does Linus possess?

3. At one point when Håkan is feverish and delusional, he awakens next to what type of dead animal?

4. When Håkan eats birds in order to stay alive, he also drinks what salty substance?

5. The prologue takes place on a ship near what location?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does the parting of Håkan and Lorimer come about?

2. What method does Håkan's father Erik use to obtain the money to send his sons to America?

3. What similarity between Native American and Swedish culture does Håkan identify?

4. As Håkan's first summer away from his family comes to a close, what is said to be "all Håkan could think of" (40)?

5. What major character change does Håkan undergo against his will as a result of his association with Lorimer?

6. Who is Lorimer and what are three of his characteristics?

7. Who are the Brennans and how does Håkan become involved with them?

8. In what location does the prologue of the novel take place?

9. How does Håkan feel about his older brother Linus?

10. Discuss an instance when the theme of collectivism appears within the novel.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss how and why Diaz instills three different humanist messages into the narrative of In the Distance.

Essay Topic 2

Discuss Diaz's choice to tell the novel of In the Distance using a third person omniscient narrator. What elements of the novel's themes lend themselves to this choice and what are Diaz’s intended effects on the reader?

Essay Topic 3

Determine the ways in which Diaz’s novel In the Distance displays the characteristics of the literary style of Naturalism.

(see the answer keys)

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