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. Which of the following adjectives does Harriet use in reference to the general during their argument?

2. What art form did Harriet's family collect from uninterested Europeans?

3. What does the old gringo think is the path that all young men must take?

4. As an adult, in what city does Harriet live?

5. What type of feeling does the old gringo begin to have toward General Arroyo after meeting alone with him in his home?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does the general respond to the coin the old gringo has just shot?

2. How does the old gringo find out General Arroyo's secret?

3. What reaction does Harriet have to seeing that the jewels she has set out have vanished?

4. Why were the Mexican people so enamored with the old gringo?

5. How does General Arroyo die?

6. How does the old gringo win over the general with his Colt .44?

7. How did it come to be that Harriet was left without a dowry?

8. Why does the Colonel push his crew to hurry up with the old gringo's body?

9. Who is Mr. Delaney?

10. What happens when the old gringo fights back against the enemy soldiers that attack him and General Arroyo as they are heading to Zacatecas?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Marksmanship among the male characters in the novel is thought to be the highest skill of strength. Choose two scenes in which marksmanship of characters is evaluated, and explain why this skill would be so heavily sought in the Mexican Revolution.

Essay Topic 2

The old gringo has many names in the course of the novel: the old gringo, the American, and Ambrose Bierce. Explain how the old gringo gained each of these three names, and explain what each of the names means to him as a character.

Essay Topic 3

General Arroyo has a real hatred for the American and European forces that are invading Mexico, and yet he finds himself in close relationships with two Americans. Explain why Arroyo has such hatred for the American forces in Mexico, and why he chooses to make two special exceptions to his rule when it comes to the old gringo and Harriet.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 847 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample