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. What neighborhood in Havana did Elisa grow up in?

2. What does Ana tell Marisol about the man Elisa had been involved with in her youth?

3. In Chapter 3, where have Elisa's parents gone on a trip?

4. Who does Pablo put his faith in to change things for the better in Cuba?

5. What commodity first brought Chinese people to Cuba?

Short Essay Questions

1. In Chapter 2, why is Marisol nervous when she heads through customs coming into Cuba?

2. In Chapter 7, what secret does Elisa trust Pablo with about her own family?

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

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

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

6. In Chapter 7, why is Beatriz sneaking into her father's office?

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

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

9. In Chapter 9, how does Luis explain his cuts and bruises to Elisa?

10. In Chapter 3, how does Elisa feel about her family's relationship with sugar?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What is the Cuban convertible peso and how is it different from other currencies used in Cuba? What does the Cuban convertible peso symbolize?

Essay Topic 2

Write an essay analyzing and exploring Marisol's complex feelings when she first arrives in Cuba at the start of the novel, keeping in mind her main reason for traveling there and citing specific references to the text to help support your answers.

Essay Topic 3

Write an essay exploring the friendship of Elisa Perez and Ana Rodriguez. How does their friendship survive decades of physical separation and the dramatic divergence of their life paths?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 648 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample