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

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

3. How many new ships are in the Spanish fleet that arrives?

4. What do the Spanish soldiers admire about the city of Tenochtitlan?

5. Who kills Blood Gutton?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does Cortes burn all of his ships but one?

2. According to legend, who induces the people from Aztlan to seek power by worshiping the war god and feeding him with human sacrifices?

3. What unique physical feature does the "unattached woman" in one of the Otomi towns have that Mixtl finds so attractive?

4. Who is Canautli?

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

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

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

8. What does Malintzin's ambitious behavior demonstrate right away to Mixtli?

9. What features does Mixtli like in the house Ahuitzotl builds for him?

10. What reason does the Bishop give in his letter to the emperor for continuing to allow the Indians to be enslaved?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Using direct evidence from the text, discuss what Mixtli's near-sightedness symbolizes and at least 3 literary devices Jennings uses to convey this symbolism.

Essay Topic 2

Discuss at least 4 literary techniques that Jennings uses to introduce Cortes as a complicated, historical character in the novel.

Essay Topic 3

Discuss three literary devices Jennings uses to incorporate brutality and violence in a novel in such a way that the story itself, while containing these aspects, does not become one of brutality and violence. Make sure to use examples from the text to support your thesis.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 543 words (approx. 2 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample