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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. What does Galileo tell his brother-in-law he needs in order to pay off his debt?

2. How does Abundio go deaf?

3. What is it that Fulgor wants to remember to tell don Pedro about his upcoming marriage?

4. What happens to Pedro's father?

5. What is Inocencio's job at the Media Luna ranch?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why are the two women that Juan encounters in the street worried?

2. How does Fulgor get Dolores to agree to marry Pedro?

3. Why does Eduviges and Dolorita promise to die together?

4. What does the burro driver tell Juan about how don Pedro treats women?

5. What does the woman tell Juan about the roads leaving from Comala?

6. Explain Miguel Paramo's fate.

7. Why does Juan's mother hate having her picture taken?

8. Why does don Pedro want to marry Dolores?

9. Why does María Dyada believe that her sister Eduviges is worthy of redemption?

10. How is Comala different from how Juan's mother describes it?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Susana represents two sides of our natures: the physical and the spiritual, the body versus the soul. Susana rejects the spiritual realm and instead revels in sensual, corporeal pleasures and sensations. Give at least three examples of the text where Susana remembers a physical, bodily experience. How does her nature affect her fate? Do you think her sensual nature is at all to blame for the nature of her relationship with Pedro? Why or why not?

Essay Topic 2

One of the themes that runs through the novel is the nature of redemption and hope in a person's life. Select one of the following characters and explain what gives them hope during their lives:

- Juan

- Pedro

- Susana

- Dolores

- Dorotea

Address how (or if) they are able to find any sort of redemption in the afterlife. How do you know this from the novel?

Essay Topic 3

Explain why you think "Pedro Páramo" is an example of Magical Realism. Using specific examples of the text, address the following themes:

- Use of the supernatural

- Realistic aspects

- Extraordinary occurring at the same time as the ordinary

Explain why you think Rulfo uses this style to tell his story. What does the Magical Realism genre allow him to do as an author?

(see the answer keys)

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