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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 quits a few days after Yeamon is fired?

2. What city does Paul arrive in in this chapter?

3. In what part of the plane does the blonde girl sit?

4. What does the main character want to do before he boards his plane?

5. What do Paul and Yeamon fish for?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. What gives the reader the idea that Paul intends to stay in San Juan?

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

4. Why does Paul give Yeaman and Sala a bad impression?

5. What does Paul do in Yeaman's house in Chapter 3?

6. Describe the San Juan News.

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

8. What does Paul do on his first day at the newspaper?

9. What kind of people like to drink at Al's bar?

10. How does Paul feel about Yeaman and Chanault's relationship in Chapter 3?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Examine Thompson's writing style. How would you describe his prose style? What kind of vocabulary does he use? Does he use any specific writing techniques? What meaning does Thompson's style give to the story?

Essay Topic 2

Write a 500-word essay revolving around the following statement: Paul does not make a success of his time in Puerto Rico because he lacks both direction and ambition.

Essay Topic 3

Lotterman thinks he will lose respect in the community because he is an ex-communist and the locals do not trust communists. What kind of political system did Pueto Rico have in the Sixties? What was Puerto Rico's relationship with communism?

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