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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. How is the Caribbean Sea reassembled?

2. After Leticia's funeral, what does the General do to the birds?

3. Where does the General get his socks?

4. How does the town react to the news of the General's death?

5. The General, in the "feminine splendor" of his death, is compared to which public figure?

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe the successful assassination attempt.

2. Describe the circumstances under which the General meets Leticia Nazareno.

3. Explain how the Caribbean Sea becomes U.S. property.

4. What does Bendicion Alvarado try to tell the General as she is dying?

5. How does Jose Ignacio Saenz de la Barra attempt to undermine the General?

6. How does the General defeat Jose Ignacio Saenz de la Barra's attempted coup?

7. How does the General learn how to read?

8. After he has finished with the school girl, how does the General deal with her?

9. How is Bendicion Alvarado mourned?

10. Explain the conditions under which Jose Ignacio Saenz de la Barra is allowed to operate the torture chamber.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Gabriel Garcia Marquez is renown for his masterful manipulation of magical realism in his fiction. Address the absurd and fantastical elements in the novel. What is the intended effect of these outrageous elements? How does this contribute to the political commentary in the novel? Provide evidence from the novel to support your assertions.

Essay Topic 2

The human and the supernatural are juxtaposed in this novel. Discuss the role of religion, fate and omens in the novel. How do these notions factor into the plot of the novel and the overall message of the work? How is religion treated in the novel? How does the General respond to fate and markers of that fate? Provide support from the novel to strengthen your argument.

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the role of repetition in the novel. This, unlike many other works of fiction, is a novel loaded with motifs and repeated descriptions of events. How does this affect the overall structure of the work? What does this technique contribute to Garcia's overall message in the work. Use specific evidence from the text to support your claims.

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This section contains 857 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample