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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 month is it when Juan dies?

2. What is the official charge against Toribio Aldrete?

3. Who tells Eduviges that Juan is coming to town?

4. What does the boy's mother want him to do?

5. What is Galileo's wife's name?

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe the memory Pedro has of Susana as he sits in the privy.

2. What does the woman think is wrong with the other woman?

3. Why is Eduviges convinced that Juan does not meet Abundio on the road to Comala?

4. What are the two men who Juan hears in the street discussing?

5. How does Fulgor get Dolores to agree to marry Pedro?

6. Why are the two women that Juan encounters in the street worried?

7. How does what happens to Toribio Aldrete confirm don Pedro's immoral behavior?

8. Describe the encounter between Father Rentería and María Dyada after Eduviges' death.

9. Describe the relationship between don Pedro and Dolores.

10. Why is Father Rentería conflicted after Miguel's death?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Juan's descent into Comala is like an ascension into hell. Later the reader learns that Comala's dead remain in the town as a purgatory. Select three of the following characters and explain why their ghosts are stuck in Comala:

- Dorotea

- Eduviges

- Susana

- Juan

- Abundio

Address how each of their stories help the reader learn more about Pedro and his life.

Essay Topic 2

Don Pedro and Father Rentería are two different examples of characters dealing with the consequences of their actions. Don Pedro seems to live a guiltless life without regret, while Father Rentería is consumed by guilt. Compare and contrast the two characters based on the following:

- What actions in their lives most affect the two characters?

- How do they deal with the consequences of their actions

- Who do you think is the more sympathetic of the characters? Why?

Essay Topic 3

"Pedro Páramo" has several structural elements that appear often in Modernist and Surrealist literature. Explain how the novel uses the following:

- Circular narrative

- Stories within stories

- Setting shifts

How do each of these contribute to the development of the plot.

(see the answer keys)

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