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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. With what celestial object does Håkan take issue?

2. Håkan decides in Chapter 15 that by the time what season comes, he will be ready to interact with people again?

3. What aspect of Håkan's collection delights him the most?

4. While most of the travelers in the caravan look at Håkan with "mute curiosity," (108) a few of them snicker at what aspect of his appearance?

5. Håkan is about to leave the store in town when he sees what kind of visual representation of his own face on the wall?

Short Essay Questions

1. Which of the five senses does Håkan most strongly associate with the presence of humans?

2. How is the theme of violence portrayed within the sheriff's interaction with Håkan?

3. What skills inherited from Lorimer does Håkan put to use at the scene of the wagon accident?

4. Who is Jarvis?

5. Describe an instance when a literary device is used in conjunction with the motif of violence.

6. Describe the way in which Håkan views the event he consistently calls "the killings" (130) throughout the narrative.

7. What does Hakan observe about Jarvis's reputation among the caravan's members?

8. What method does Håkan employ once he decides to avoid all future encounters with other humans?

9. What is the significance of the wooden dresser Håkan finds in the desert?

10. What event leads to Håkan's first experience of an emotion "other than pain and guilt" (140) since the killings?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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

Essay Topic 2

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.

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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