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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. Who is Cocoton?

2. Who does Mixtli ask to marry him after the death of his daughter?

3. For how long does Ahuitzotl stay in a stupor after the flood hits?

4. Who comes and visits Mixtli and Zyanya, and stays awhile, in their new home?

5. What does Mixtli do to the cranky young man in a loincloth he finds fishing for frogs?

Short Essay Questions

1. What do Siriame and Mixtli do after they take jipuri cacti?

2. What two factors in particular convince Mixtli that the Spaniards are not gods?

3. For how long are Mixtli and Zyanya married before Zyanya finally becomes pregnant?

4. Who is Canautli?

5. What military tactic does Mixtli advise Ahuitzotl about when he presents him with his second quartz crystal?

6. What does Mixtli do to show his urgency among the priests who hold the purple dye?

7. What kind of boat does Mixtli use to follow the lava flow out to sea?

8. What does Snake Woman realize after she is sent with golden gifts to Cortes in Chololan?

9. Who decides to make up a story about how the civilians (that Mixtli killed) were massacred by unknown assailants?

10. How are Mixtli's crystals and bone carvings received?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss how an act or element of nature that is used in the novel to aid in either plot OR character development. Make sure to address at least 3 literary devices that Jennings uses as well as direct quotations from the text.

Essay Topic 2

As two men with similar traits but different practices, Mixtli and Motecuzoma travel parallel paths in Aztec. Compare and contrast these two characters.

Essay Topic 3

Several characters in the story are married -- often more than once -- throughout the novel. Discuss the function of marriage within Aztec and what message, if any, Jennings is trying to convey about marriage itself through his characters.

(see the answer keys)

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