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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 a sack of what seems like coconuts, what does Jose Ignacio Saenz de la Barra deliver to the General?

2. What does the Easter edict proclaim?

3. How had President Lauturo Munoz risen to power?

4. What prompts the General to have all of Leticia's food inspected?

5. What is disguised as as vase of six sunflowers?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Bendicion Alvarado try to tell the General as she is dying?

2. Explain the significance of yellow fever to the General's position as president.

3. How is Bendicion Alvarado mourned?

4. Why does Leticia always receive inferior merchandise from the market?

5. Explain the conditions under which Jose Ignacio Saenz de la Barra is allowed to operate the torture chamber.

6. What happens to Monsignor Demetrius Aldous as he concludes his investigation of the General's mother?

7. What are the contents of the sack which appears to be full of coconuts?

8. How does Leticia force the General to marry her?

9. Describe the occurrence the General believes to be a miracle.

10. Describe the first assassination attempt against the General's wife and son.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Death is a consistent motif throughout the entire novel. Main characters die gruesome deaths and the General's death is described in vivid detail throughout the novel. How does death, especially the General's repeated deaths, play into the novel as a whole? Consider the repetition of the moments of death as well as the death imagery which pervades the novel. Be sure to focus your critique on specific evidence from the novel.

Essay Topic 2

Throughout the novel, Garcia Marquez introduces subtle commentary on the U.S. presence in Latin America. Identify the moments in which Garcia Marquez introduces his critique and discuss how he integrates it into the text. What is his central message concerning U.S. intervention or interference in Latin American politics? Which characters or events most consistently bolster this critique? Be sure to bolster your argument with details from the novel.

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the significance of the animal imagery in the novel. How does Marquez use animals to create an effect? What is this effect? Consider images such as the cow saluting the nation from the balcony in your response. Be sure to bolster your argument with support from the novel.

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This section contains 945 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample