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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 is the youngest of the Perez sisters?

2. What does Marisol do for a living?

3. What kind of car does Luis drive?

4. In Chapter 6, what author does Pablo tell Elisa to read?

5. In Chapter 7, where does Pablo tell Elisa he was before he came back to Havana?

Short Essay Questions

1. In Chapter 7, why is Beatriz sneaking into her father's office?

2. In Chapter 9, how does Luis explain his cuts and bruises to Elisa?

3. In Chapter 1, why is Elisa fleeing Cuba with her family?

4. In Chapter 7, what secret does Elisa trust Pablo with about her own family?

5. In Chapter 9, what offer does Luis make to Marisol and how does she feel about this?

6. In Chapter 10, how does Luis explain his having such a nice car to Marisol?

7. In Chapter 5, what advice does Ana give to Marisol when she gives Marisol Elisa's box that was buried in the backyard?

8. In Chapter 7, what does Alejandro find Elisa specifically to tell her?

9. Who picks Marisol up at the airport in Chapter 2, and why?

10. In Chapter 3, how does Elisa feel about her family's relationship with sugar?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Marisol worries about how Luis will settle into life in America, a country he has never visited and that he harbors a certain wariness towards based at least in part on its decades of embargoes and sanctions against Cuba. Write an essay explaining some of the tensions and misgivings Luis feels about America. Do you think he will be able to adjust successfully to life there as an exile himself?

Essay Topic 2

In Chapter 5, why does Ana Rodriguez tell Marisol not to judge her grandmother too harshly when she gives Marisol her grandmother's box of possessions that were buried in Elisa's backyard? What does Marisol find in the box, and how does she react to it? Write an essay explaining your answers.

Essay Topic 3

Consider the sacrifices that various characters make for different reasons - to protect their families, to fight for their visions of what their country should be like, etc. - and write an essay exploring the theme of sacrifice in the novel analyzing some specific characters and the examples of their sacrifices.

(see the answer keys)

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