View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. For about how long does Cantu see Jose every day as they work in close proximity?

2. Which organization began an investigation into the large-scale killings of women in Juarez in 2004?

3. In 2008, which of the following writers conducted interviews with a former cartel hit man?

4. According to Cantu, what is one common way reporting in the media dehumanizes migrants?

5. What does Jose's private immigration attorney tell Cantu and Diane about Jose's case?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why is Lupe, Jose's wife, not able to visit the detention center where he is being held awaiting a final decision on his case?

2. What does Beto tell Cantu he thinks is a harbinger of death in his family on page 120?

3. How does Cantu's uncle in Santa Fe feel about the work he has done his whole life?

4. What Greek story does Cantu mention and compare to some of the tragedies he sees playing out in the desert through his job?

5. What was Cantu's original birth name, and why did Cantu's mother change his name?

6. Who asks Cantu to help Jose when it becomes clear he is having trouble getting back into the U.S.?

7. What does the sicario tell the interviewers started to happen in his personal life after years of working for the cartel?

8. How does Cantu get to know Jose, and how does their friendship grow?

9. What does Hayward tell Cantu's new colleagues in Tucson, Beto and Manuel, about Cantu's skills?

10. What does Cantu tell Jose when Jose asks him if he ever found drugs at the border during his work for Border Patrol?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

When Cantu is transferred to a desk job in intelligence at the Border Patrol Office in Tucson, Arizona, he has a difficult time adjusting to the work. Write an essay analyzing Cantu's feelings about the change in his job duties and why it is so difficult for him to transfer from field work to desk work.

Essay Topic 2

Cantu does not have a relationship with his father, but he and his mother are very close and he is able, at times, to confide in her about his problems and hopes. Write an essay analyzing the meaning of Cantu's relationship with his mother, and how this relationship underscores one of the book's themes about the importance of close family bonds.

Essay Topic 3

Write an essay analyzing what Cantu's attendance at his great-Aunt France's funeral, and his contact with his extended family there, reveals about his feelings and attitudes towards his own ethnic and cultural heritage.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 860 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample