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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. Who does the policeman say has sent him?

2. What does Don Jaime remove from his desk drawer?

3. Which of the following does Don Jaime tell the night watchman to send for?

4. Why does Don Jaime decide to find Carceles before going to the police?

5. Where does the policeman say they are going?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why did Dona Adela kill Don Luis?

2. What does Dona Adela tell Don Jaime about her ex-lover?

3. Why does Dona Adela say Don Jaime didn't understand the file?

4. What is Campilo's opinion of Don Jaime and the way he has acted?

5. Summarize this section.

6. Why does Don Jaime think Dona Adela could be the murderer?

7. What danger is Don Jaime now in?

8. Why does Don Jaime ask the night watchman to send for a doctor?

9. Why does Don Jaime decide to use a pistol in this section?

10. What happens at three in the morning in this section?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What does the story express about Spanish society during the 1860s? How does the author use the setting to also express contemporary concerns?

Essay Topic 2

How does Don Jaime's obsession with fencing shield him from every day life? In what ways is this obsession both a strength and weakness?

Essay Topic 3

What difference does it make to the ideas that the author is trying to convey that he sets the story in the 1860s rather than contemporary society? What do you think his reason was for doing this? Could he convey the same point just as effectively within a contemporary setting?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 828 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample