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. After both bulletins, how is the General's death finally announced?

2. What does the papal nuncio say about the linen shroud?

3. What act of state importance does Emanuel perform from his baby carriage?

4. What does the first bulletin released after the General's death declare?

5. In his old age, the General is compared to which animals?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Leticia Nazareno's relationship with the General begin?

2. Describe the General's final death.

3. Why does Leticia always receive inferior merchandise from the market?

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

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

6. How does the General learn how to read?

7. How does the General decide to restore the Church to the nation?

8. Describe the encounter between the General and the school girl narrator in Chapter 6.

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

10. Why does the General's plan to overthrow the U.S. forces fail?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss the significance of the animal imagery in the novel. How does Marquez use animals to create an effect? What is this effect? Consider images such as the cow saluting the nation from the balcony in your response. Be sure to bolster your argument with support from the novel.

Essay Topic 2

Because the novel spans such a vast period of time, much changes in the course of its plot. As the nation moves forward in history, technology encroaches on the traditional ways of life. Discuss the integration and appearance of technology in the novel. Consider the General's fascination with the gadgets he gives to Manuela Sanchez or the television campaign Jose Ignacio Saenz de la Barra launches against the General. How does technology creep into the novel? What is the overall effect on the work as a whole? Be sure to provide specific evidence to support your argument.

Essay Topic 3

Garcia Marquez has focused his novel entirely on a totalitarian dictator who maintains control over the nation for decades, if not centuries. As such, power is a central theme in the novel. What is Garcia Marquez's commentary on the nature of power, absolute power, and/or political power? How does the interplay of power between the General and various characters factor into this commentary? Support your answer with evidence from the text.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 926 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample