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. What does the author say the marquis is wheezing like?

2. What is the name of the gardens the palace overlooks?

3. What was the name of Don Jaime's old fencing master?

4. What is Dona Adela playing on her piano as Don Jaime leaves?

5. How does Romero get by without a job?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does Don Jaime think martial war has been declared?

2. Why isn't the Marquis at his best?

3. What does Don Jaime about his loneliness?

4. Why does Don Luis say he admires Don Jaime?

5. How does Don Jaime anger Dona Adela during the first bout?

6. How did Don Jaime become a fencing master?

7. Why is Don Jaime struggling with what he calls the Holy Grail?

8. What does Don Jaime think about Adela's constant questioning?

9. What is Don Jaime's opinion of Manlito?

10. What information does Don Jaime give Dona Adela about his life in fencing?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What was happening during the 1860s? How is different is today's Spain to what it was then? How does the author make a story set in the 1860s relevant to modern readers?

Essay Topic 2

How has Don Jaime's past effected the person we meet in the book? In what way could it be said that his past is responsible for some of his negative actions in the story? How does what happen in the story help Don Jaime to face up to his past?

Essay Topic 3

Look at the generation gap between younger and the older characters. What different experiences did both generations go through? What problems is the generation gap causing the characters? Is generational gap expressed particularly wide during this time or is a wide generational gap common to all ages?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 825 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample