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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. Where do Adam and Isabel go together by train?

2. Who does Teresa say are many of the dead in the terrorist attack?

3. Why is Adam furious with Isabel in Part III?

4. What does Adam think the Spanish countryside looks like?

5. What does Adam see in the sky at the end of Part IV?

Short Essay Questions

1. Who does Adam often try to impress besides Isabel?

2. Who is Adam surprised to learn does not vote in Spanish elections?

3. Where is Adam when the March 11 events happen?

4. Where does Adam travel for the first time by rail in Spain?

5. What does Isabel tell Adam that takes him by surprise in Grenada?

6. What does a woman bring to Cyrus and Jane to help with their shock in Part III?

7. What does Adam grapple with participating, or not participating, in in Part IV?

8. What frustrates Adam about his relationship with Teresa?

9. What kind of pills does Adam often take to calm his nerves?

10. What happens on March 11?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What does the Atocha Station come to signify or symbolize? Write an essay explaining your answers, citing specific references to the text to help support your conclusions.

Essay Topic 2

What is Adam's perspective on the relationship between literature and politics? Write an essay explaining your answers, citing specific references to the text to help support your conclusions.

Essay Topic 3

How and why could this novel be classified as a bildungsroman? Write an essay explaining your answers, citing specific references to the text to help support your conclusions.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 438 words (approx. 2 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample