View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. How does Florence describe Noemí in Chapter 7?

2. According to Francis in Chapter 10, why did Ruth murder her family?

3. What is the name of Catalina’s new husband, as revealed in Chapter 1?

4. In what city does Noemí and her family live, as revealed in Chapter 1?

5. According to Noemí in Chapter 3, what sorts of novels does Catalina love?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Marta reveal about the construction of High Place in Chapter 12?

2. What does Noemí learn from Francis in Chapter 4?

3. Who is Catalina and what does the reader learn about her in Chapter 1?

4. Who were Agnes and Alice, and what does Noemí learn about them in Chapter 7?

5. According to Florence in Chapter 2, what rules must Noemí follow while at High Place?

6. What happens when Noemí visits the greenhouse with Virgil in Chapter 8?

7. What is High Place? What does Noemí think about High Place upon first seeing it in Chapter 2?

8. Who is Marta and what information does she tell Noemí in Chapter 6?

9. What does Noemí discover in the library in Chapter 4?

10. Who was Aurelio? What does Noemí learn about him in Chapter 12?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What do you think the future has in store for Noemí, Francis, and Catalina after the close of the novel? Predict their futures based on their thoughts and actions over the course of the novel.

Essay Topic 2

Write an essay explaining the significance of the title of the novel, Mexican Gothic. How does the title reflect the main characters? How does the title reflect the novel’s themes and conflicts? How does the title’s meaning change over the course of the novel?

Essay Topic 3

Analyze the author’s choice to tell this story by using a third-person perspective. How does viewing the action through a third-person perspective affect the story? How would the novel change if the story was told through the first person?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 877 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample