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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 does Luis tell Marisol about the food rations for Cuba?

2. How old is Pablo when Elisa meets him in Chapter 4?

3. Who is the youngest of the Perez sisters?

4. In Chapter 7, what does Alejandro come to tell Elisa?

5. What commodity first brought Chinese people to Cuba?

Short Essay Questions

1. In Chapter 3, what is Elisa's first meeting with Pablo like?

2. In Chapter 8, what happens to Ana and Elisa when they are out to lunch?

3. In Chapter 5, why does Ana tell Marisol that Elisa saw herself in Marisol?

4. In Chapter 4, what is Pablo able to discern from Elisa's dress and shoes?

5. In Chapter 7, why does Elisa meet Pablo in parts of town where she thinks no one she knows will see them?

6. In Chapter 1, who helps Marisol organize her first trip to Cuba?

7. Which leader does Pablo support in Chapter 7, and why does he support him?

8. In Chapter 9, why does Marisol find it difficult to be around Luis?

9. Who picks Marisol up at the airport in Chapter 2, and why?

10. In Chapter 1, why is Elisa fleeing Cuba with her family?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

How does Cleeton use Marisol's search for Pablo - her biological grandfather - and the search's conclusion as a means of sustaining suspense throughout the novel? Write an essay explaining your answer.

Essay Topic 2

What does Marisol learn about the Rodriguez family's paladar? What does the paladar symbolize about class inequality and struggle in Cuba? Write an essay explaining your answers.

Essay Topic 3

Why do you think Luis remains so committed to staying in Cuba, even after the regime detains and beats him, and even though he will almost surely be imprisoned for life or killed if he stays? Write an essay explaining your answer.

(see the answer keys)

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