View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. When Håkan wakes up next to a dead animal, to what cause does he attribute the animal's cause of death?

2. Before Håkan can enact his plan to escape from the clutches of the dragoon and the rest, who sets him free?

3. What does Håkan lose "in a matter of days" (22)?

4. Who directs the preparation of the medicine to heal the person ill with fever?

5. What kind of expedition do the Brennans launch when they get to the United States?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. How is the theme of family bonds demonstrated within Chapter 6?

3. Why is the extremely large man a topic of conversation for the other passengers on the ship, other than his size?

4. How does the theme of delusion enter the narrative after Håkan's escape from the dragoon and the woman with the diseased gums?

5. Describe the distinctive opening of Chapter 6 and its use of sensory details.

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

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

8. What coping mechanism does Håkan employ in order to get his fear under control and what is its level of effectiveness??

9. How does Håkan finally escape from Clangston?

10. On what type of food does Håkan survive after he escapes from the diseased woman's clutches?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Look carefully at the passages of In the Distance that describe the close relationships between Håkan and his various mentors within the narrative. What is Diaz’s purpose for portraying three characters as different as James Brennan, Lorimer, and Asa in the roles of Håkan’s mentors?

Essay Topic 2

Analyze the ways in which the themes of adaptability and resignation appear within Diaz’s novel In the Distance. What message is Diaz sending about these two themes over the course of the narrative?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss Diaz’s use of metaphor, simile, imagery, and other literary devices as a means to send particular thematic messages within the narrative of In the Distance.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,176 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample