House of the Spirits ​Summative Assessment

Due: December 4, 2018

Write a four to six paragraph formal essay that answers one of the prompts below; in each
paragraph, use multiple pieces of evidence to support your thesis statement.

Your essay MUST be printed out and ready to be collected right when class starts.

Option One: This prompt is more open ended and requires more independent analysis and
comprehension of the book. It also requires interpretation of the Neruda quote and
specific evidence form the book relating that quote to a larger theme of your choosing.

Allende includes the following quote by Pablo Neruda as the epigraph to the novel:
"How much does a man live, after all? / Does he live a thousand days, or one only? /
For a week, or for several centuries? / How long does a man spend dying? / What
does it mean to say "forever?" Using specific evidence, explain how the epigraph
relates to the novel's greater message.

Option Two: This prompt requires you to extract a theme (message) about love and/or
suffering throughout the novel which the author (Allende) finds important, and use
evidence to support your interpretation.

Consider the way in which love and suffering connect in ​The House of the Spirits.
What message does Allende send by highlighting the ways in which they are
inseparable? Use specific instances from the text to support your opinion.

Option Three: This prompt requires you to look at destiny and the way in which things
are passed down in generations. It asks you to use specific evidence related to the Trueba
family.

Examine the importance of destiny in ​The House of the Spirits.​ Does the novel as a
whole favor the idea that the future is pre-planned, or does it suggest that events are
up to chance? Use specific incidents in the Trueba family history to support your
claim.