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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 Paul say he is jealous of when he sees Yeamon and Chenault?

2. Who does Paul talk to first thing the next morning?

3. Why does Yeamon not like Chenault sunbathing?

4. Whose poem begins the book?

5. What did Zimburger used to be?

Short Essay Questions

1. In what way do all the characters working on the newspaper give Paul a bad first impression of his new job and life in San Juan ?

2. What does Paul do on his first night in San Juan?

3. What problems do Paul, Sala and Yeaman run into at the bar?

4. What signs are there that newspaper will soon fold?

5. Why do neither Paul nor Sala like to stay in Sala's apartment?

6. Why can Paul not work at the beginning of this chapter?

7. Describe how Al built up his business.

8. Why does Paul decide to go out drinking the night before he flies to Puerto Rico?

9. What do Paul, Sala and the girls do on the beach?

10. What problems does Paul have with the old man in Chapter 1?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Identify the main themes of the story. Why do you think these themes are so important to the story? How does Thompson use character and setting to express these themes?

Essay Topic 2

Look at the structure of the novel.

1) How does Thompson use character and dialogue to drive the narrative?

2) Discuss elements of the narrative structure: exposition, conflict, complication, climax, resolution and conclusion. Do all the elements make for a logical and linear story? How does the story's structure express the novel's themes?

3) Aside from the main character, examine the way Thompson uses the other characters in the story. When does he introduce and take them away from the story? What effect does it have on the story?

Essay Topic 3

What role did Americans play in Puerto Rican life in the Fifties? Why was Puerto Rico such an attractive place for Americans to go to in the Fifties? How has American tourism and American culture changed Puerto Rico?

(see the answer keys)

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