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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 happens to Leni as a result of #47?

2. What is the woman doing when she is first approached by the man?

3. Where is this woman in #6 located when the man first meets her?

4. How many other guys are trading on the black market, and are described in detail, in this new story?

5. Who gets married in the story Molina tells to himself?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Valentin say helps him escape his cell and his reality?

2. What has the butcher been doing in the new movie Molina is describing in this chapter?

3. What happens to the race car driver in the beginning of the new story Molina starts?

4. What happens in the movie when the wife goes to a voodoo ceremony?

5. Why does Valentin say he avoids the pleasures of the flesh?

6. By whom would Valentin really like the letter to be written?

7. What is Valentin's reaction to Molina's illness?

8. What does Molina say is the only thing that makes him happy?

9. What is the man's parents' reaction to his new relationship?

10. Why does the man end up in the hospital in the movie story?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The idea of gender is something that is pursued in a subtle way in this manuscript. In moving back and forth between what is "masculine" and what is "feminine," the reader begins to ask questions of his/her own definitions of these terms as well.

Part 1: What are some examples of femininity in this story?

Part 2: What are some examples of masculinity in this story?

Part 3: What does the author seem to be saying about the definition of gender as it relates to this story? Is it important? Why or why not?

Essay Topic 2

Women do not seem to play a large role in the story, being relegated only to the maternal role and to the person Valentin continues his fight for.

Part 1: Who are the female characters in this story? What is their relationship to the main characters of the dialogue?

Part 2: Do the female characters seem stronger or weaker than the male characters? Why did you choose the answer you did?

Part 3: What does Puig seem to be saying about the female gender?

Essay Topic 3

The idea of telling stories seems to be used as an escapist technique, not just for the reader, but also for the characters.

Part 1: Why does Molina like to tell the stories as told to Valentin and to himself?

Part 2: What might Molina be escaping from as he tells the stories? What might Valentin escape from?

Part 3: What is the value of escapism? What does it provide to those who seek it out? How can it hurt the seekers of escapism?

(see the answer keys)

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