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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. In “Alfonso, in the Snow,” Alfonso talks to himself saying he is alive and must do what?

2. Sonya stands and holds up a sign that someone has given her. What does the sign say?

3. In this bombed city one person takes a cigarette while another gives what to a dog?

4. Alfonso says there is such fire from what?

5. In “We Lived Happily during the War,” an unknown speaker says that when homes are bombed, what happens?

Short Essay Questions

1. In “Checkpoints” what do the soldiers set up around town and why?

2. What is the topic of both “Of Weddings before the War” and “Still Newlyweds”?

3. In “Alfonso Stands Answerable,” to whom does Alfonso say he is answerable?

4. Why are puppets hung outside the homes of some of the townspeople?

5. What happens in “Arrival”?

6. In “4 a.m. Bombardment,” as the morning begins and the town comes to life what are the soldiers doing? What is Alfonso doing?

7. In “A Dog Sniffs,” what happens to Sonya?

8. In “The Townspeople Circle the Boy’s Body,” what do the townspeople do to protect Petya’s body?

9. In “Deafness, an Insurgency, Begins,” what does the speaker say about his country, the day after Petya is murdered?

10. How does Alfonso react to his wife’s murder?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Alfonso says he wife was a door-slammer and he a fool. What does he mean by this? Would you agree that he is foolish? Why or why not?

Essay Topic 2

Time and again the invading army knows how to put the townspeople in their place. What tactics do they use to keep the people from revolting? How do these tactics impact the main characters? How does this behavior educate the reader on how invading armies have succeeded in real-life situations to terrorize whole communities and countries?

Essay Topic 3

The collection of poetry begins and ends with poems about the U.S. What is the subject matter of these poems? What is the purpose of the poems? How do they relate to the rest of the poems? Why might the poet have chosen to have them as bookends for his collection?

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