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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. How many people became infected within the first couple of months?

2. What is the name of the place the narrator spent much of his time thanks to his friend, Alex?

3. How does Diaz describe the way in which the infection spread?

4. What does the narrator say all 19-year-olds are when discussing his difficulty being around his sick mother?

5. What is the name of the girl the narrator was interested in?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why was it easy to blame the heat on the outbreak of La Negrura?

2. Is the narrator being honest when he says his mother did not really want him around her when she was sick? Explain.

3. Why did interest in La Negrura wane fairly soon after the initial infection?

4. How did people first react to La Negrura, according to the narrator at the start of the story?

5. Who is Alex? How does he know the narrator? In what ways are they different?

6. Why did the narrator's mother initially come back to the Dominican Republic after living in Brooklyn?

7. How did the narrator react when he first heard of La Negrura? What was he more occupied with at the time?

8. How did the narrator's mother and aunt feel about the situation in Haiti?

9. What did Alex tell his friends when he introduced them to the narrator? How did his friends react when the narrator told them what he was hoping to become?

10. What are some the strange behaviors the infected displayed months after the initial outbreak?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write an essay analyzing the symbolic significance the narrator's family's economic status has on the story. Why is this important and how does it develop the themes of the story? What would be different if his family were wealthy? Use examples from the text to support your viewpoint.

Essay Topic 2

Write an essay analyzing Diaz's language style and word choice in "Monstro." What are some words that stand out to you and why? What words are repeated? What words are most impactful? Explain your answers.

Essay Topic 3

Examine the use of dialogue vs the use of description. Look at how each is used in the story and what makes these uses effective or ineffective.

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This section contains 743 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample