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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 are the two thousand children transported from the palace?

2. After the deaths of the men who sacked the Palace, the General decides to do which of the following?

3. Both as a tribute to his mother and as a joke, people begin to send the General which of the following gifts?

4. In which month was the Presidential Palace inaugurated?

5. Whose husband does the General claim to have retrieved for her?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does the General respond to Patricio Aragones's dying diatribe?

2. After the U.S. occupiers leave, why is Bendicion Alvarado unhappy?

3. What happens to the Defense Minister?

4. How are the leaders of a failed rebellion killed?

5. How does Patricio Aragones feel toward the President?

6. How does Saturno Santos come to work for the General and why must he stop?

7. Describe the Caribbean Sea at the opening of Chapter 3.

8. Why does the General relocate his mother to a mansion in the suburbs?

9. Describe the state of the presidential palace when the book opens.

10. What does the General do with the two thousand children whose continued existence would threaten the General's position as president?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss gender and sexual relations in this novel. How does Garcia Marquez deal with sex, sexuality, and gender dynamics? Consider the multiple rapes, the dynamic between the General and his mother, the dynamic between the General and Manuela, and the dynamic between the General and Leticia. Integrate material from the text to support your assertions.

Essay Topic 2

Analyze the way in which Gabriel Garcia Marquez treats politics and dictatorships in the novel. What is he saying about dictatorship? Does his General resemble any historical dictators? If so, what effect does this resemblance have on the purpose of the book? Be sure to provide specific evidence from the text as you write your essay.

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the ending of the novel. Who concludes the novel? Why is it significant that the narrative ends with this voice? Why does the final page end with dates? What effect does this ending have on the novel as a whole? Consider the structure, motifs, and narrative structure in your answer. Support your argument using evidence from the text.

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