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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 the main emotion Håkan feels toward his brother Linus prior to their separation?

2. From what country had Lorimer originally hailed?

3. Who is the first person in the narrative to call Håkan by the name of "Hawk" (31)?

4. What is distinctive about the town of Clangston?

5. On what continent had Lorimer attended college?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. Describe a time in the narrative when a metaphor is used to indicate a particular mood.

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

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

5. In what way does Diaz feature the motif of sound within the scene of the massacre?

6. Describe Håkan's experiences in Clangston.

7. Describe Håkan's family situation, as it is depicted once the body of the narrative begins.

8. How does Håkan end up on a ship ultimately bound for California, when he had been headed for New York City?

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

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Analyze Diaz’s focus on the motif of violence in the novel In the Distance. What message is Diaz sending about violence, America, and the human condition?

Essay Topic 2

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

Essay Topic 3

Discuss Diaz’s messages about guilt and responsibility within the novel In the Distance. Focus especially on events such as Håkan’s change from thinking about Linus as his potential savior, to seeing himself as the one who needs to find Linus so that he can protect his older brother from the big bad world to which Håkan has been exposed.

(see the answer keys)

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