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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. How does Håkan retrieve the item he leaves in the village by mistake?

2. Håkan sees which of his own acts as an act against god?

3. With what celestial object does Håkan take issue?

4. By what aspect of the dresser is Håkan impressed?

5. In what location does Håkan last recall seeing his own face?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is the significance of the wooden dresser Håkan finds in the desert?

2. What event leads to Håkan's first experience of an emotion "other than pain and guilt" (140) since the killings?

3. During the period of time when Håkan travels with the help of a burro and a horse, how does he view his goal destination of New York City?

4. How does the theme of grief enter the narrative when Håkan attempts to buy a certain item from members of the caravan?

5. Describe an instance when a literary device is used in conjunction with the motif of violence.

6. Describe the way in which Håkan views the event he consistently calls "the killings" (130) throughout the narrative.

7. What skills inherited from Lorimer does Håkan put to use at the scene of the wagon accident?

8. How is the theme of violence portrayed within the sheriff's interaction with Håkan?

9. For what purpose does Diaz employ character foils within Håkan's period of captivity?

10. Håkan believes what action to be impossible in relation to the men killed by his own hand?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Trace the characterization arc of Håkan’s character throughout the novel In the Distance. Discuss whether Håkan is a round or flat character and whether Håkan is a static or dynamic character.

Essay Topic 2

Sensory details are used frequently by Diaz in order to create vivid pictures of each character's progression through the narrative of In the Distance. Choose three scenes in which sensory details are heavily used and discuss how the sensory details used serve Diaz’s creation of vivid characters to populate the narrative.

Essay Topic 3

Analyze Diaz’s focus on the motif of violence in the novel In the Distance. What message is Diaz sending about violence, America, and the human condition?

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