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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 Father José fear if he says a prayer at the graveside?

2. What appeal does the girl make to the priest as he is leaving the village?

3. What fleeting impulse comes over Father José?

4. Why does Coral tell her father she would not allow the lieutenant to search the place?

5. When the mother rebukes her son for only being interested in the killing, how does the son reply?

Short Essay Questions

1. After the priest gets his bottle of wine, what happens to it?

2. Why does Mr. Trench invite the man into his house?

3. What is ominous about the parting of the priest and the mestizo?

4. What is the conversation like inside Mr. Trench's house?

5. Coral Fellows presents a reaction to the lieutenant. Describe the conversation with her father.

6. Why is he not welcome in his home town?

7. What is the pathetic scene that occurs just as he leaves the village.

8. Who does the priest turn to for help and is refused?

9. Back at the banana plantation, how does Greene emphasize the character of Coral Fellows?

10. What happens when the priest accidentally bumps into a red shirt in the cantina?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Father José represents religious people who are religious for the wrong reasons and without loyalty. His weakness is selfishness and fear. Write an essay about how real commitment is determined by what a person is willing to give up to remain loyal to that commitment.

Essay Topic 2

In the novel, Mr. Trench and Captain Fellows are presented as a-religious. Write a paper on morality apart from religion. State your opinion on whether or not non-religious people actually are able to hold to high moral standards.

Essay Topic 3

Greene does not give names to the main characters in the novel, but he does name minor characters. How does that literary technique prevent the novel from being a simple tale of survival and give it a much larger message? To write this paper, you will need to cite instances where people are named and why that makes the story more real. You will also need to explain how not giving names to the central characters helps to make them symbolic of a much larger conflict.

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This section contains 921 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample