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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 distinctive about the town of Clangston?

2. In what country is Håkan born?

3. Lorimer can speak a bit of which language in addition to English?

4. How long is the longest tooth in Lorimer's new collection?

5. The first ship boarded by Linus and Håkan is on its way to what location?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

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

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

5. What is distinctive about the large man's coat and what conclusions are drawn about it?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

How is the topic of isolation treated within In the Distance and how does its treatment relate to the novel's depicted messages?

(see the answer keys)

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