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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. In the delirium of love, the narrator takes part in a ________.

2. What does the narrator wear around his house?

3. Who does the narrator imagine is helping him clean up from the storm?

4. What does the narrator decide to call the girl?

5. Whose poems is the narrator finally able to translate in the midst of his illness?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does the narrator's feeling for the girl change his column?

2. What does the narrator think is the real explanation for Rosa Cabarcas's long absence?

3. What happens with the narrator's cat in Chapter 4?

4. What does the narrator imagine happened during the stormy night?

5. What does the narrator do about his cat in the first few days of ownership?

6. What happens when the narrator sees a bicycle that has been hit by a bus?

7. Why does the narrator trace the sleeping girl's hand?

8. How does the narrator handle not being able to contact the girl?

9. What does the narrator discuss during his breakfasts with Rosa Cabarcas?

10. What is the narrator's phone conversation like with Rosa Cabarcas after her long absence?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss the theme of the individual versus society as it affects both the narrative and morality of the novel.

Essay Topic 2

What is the purpose of the narrator investigating the young girl hit by a bus on her bicycle? Why does the narrator go to the hospital in order to see the victim? What is the greater truth he discovers while he is there?

Essay Topic 3

What is the nature of the narrator's relationship with Rosa Cabarcas? What does their relationship illustrate in the novel? Give textual support for your statements.

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