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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 exits the meeting with the Boa in the beginning of Part One, Chapter 1?

2. What is Alberto’s last name in the novel?

3. During the fight at the movie theater, who does the narrator of Part One, Chapter 3 say hit him “so hard in the belly I couldn’t breathe”?

4. What does Lt. Gamboa say he always does when he is Officer of the Guard to pass the time in Part One, Chapter 8?

5. Where do the buglers play their morning alarm on Saturdays, according to the narrator in Part One, Chapter 2?

Short Essay Questions

1. What act of betrayal has the Poet committed in Part One, Chapter 5?

2. How does the character of Lt. Huarina compare with the other officers in the novel?

3. What leads the Slave to his decision in Part One, Chapter 5? What decision does he reach?

4. How is “manhood” defined in the world of the novel? How does this definition relate to the teachings at the Academy?

5. How has the Slave’s death been foreshadowed in Part One?

6. How is the Slave’s situation described in Part One, Chapter 5? How does the confinement affect him?

7. How does Vallano fit into the hierarchy of the Fifth Years at the Academy?

8. What action does the Jaguar set out to accomplish after Cava’s punishment has been revealed in Part One, Chapter 7?

9. What are two depictions of women and female sexuality illustrated in The Time of the Hero?

10. How is the character of Arrospide described? What is his role in the narrative?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss the theme of friendship in The Time of the Hero. Which characters in the story relate to this theme the greatest in Part One? How is friendship defined by the different cadets in the story? How do the friendships in the narrative evolve?

Essay Topic 2

Gender Roles in The Time of the Hero

a. Discuss the definitions of masculinity and femininity in the novel. How do these concepts differ? How are they alike?

b. What role does gender expectation play in the actions of the main characters in the novel? Which characters act based on societal concepts of gender expectation?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the character of the Jaguar in the novel. How did the Jaguar come to lead the Circle? How is the Jaguar perceived by the other cadets? What is significant about the Jaguar’s name in comparison to the other cadets in the story?

(see the answer keys)

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