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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 is unique about the skull?

2. How does Bernarda feel about Sierva?

3. What does the Bishop consider Dr. Abrenuncio?

4. Who tells Ygnacio that Sierva is going mad?

5. What was the occupation of the Marquis's father?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does Sierva lie to Dr. Abrenuncio?

2. What sort of man does Don Ygnacio appear to be in Chapter 1?

3. What is special about the tall slave girl brought into New Grenada from the ship?

4. Describe Bernarda and Ygnacio's relationship with Sierva.

5. How does Ygnacio's first wife deal with her husband?

6. Why must the convent not cut Sierva's hair?

7. What is the connection between the skull found in the crypts of the convent and the author's memories of a legend?

8. Why does Olivia escape from the madhouse and what is the result?

9. Describe Bernarda's relationship with Judas.

10. Why does the Marquis give his daughter to the Holy Office?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

"[The Bishop] spoke of Yucatan, where they had constructed sumptuous cathedrals to hide the pagan pyramids, not realizing that the natives came to Mass because their sanctuaries still lived beneath the silver altars. He spoke of the chaotic mixing of blood that had gone on since the conquest: Spanish blood with Indian blood, and both of these with blacks of every sort, even Mandingo Muslims, and he asked himself whether such miscegenation had a place in the Kingdom of God."

Using this quote from the book as a springboard, discuss the story as an overall allegory for racism. Keep in mind the treatment of the slaves, Sierva's attachment to the African culture and her own racial background, and the use of the character of Sagunta and the motives of the Bishop in performing an exorcism on Sierva.

Essay Topic 2

Citing specific examples from the text, write an essay discussing one of the following:

- Bernarda as a symbol of New Grenada's decay.

- The use of dogs as objects of fear as opposed to faithful companions.

- Sierva's Santeria jewelry and their representation of a non-biased person.

Essay Topic 3

Consider the paradox of Sierva being subjected to a torturous exorcism so that other characters may rid themselves of their own demons. Citing specific examples from the text, write an essay discussing one of the following:

- What is her family's role in her behavior and her subsequent imprisonment?

- The Bishop's perceived failure to keep everyone faithful to the church.

- The Abbess's extreme distaste for the citizens of New Grenada.

(see the answer keys)

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