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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 was nicknamed the Gringo?

2. In what year does Tomas return to Argentina?

3. What does the Colonel give Tomas for protection in 1976?

4. Who does Isabel ask Tomas to use his influence with to gather information for her?

5. What is a signature dish in Argentina?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Isabel tell Tomas about her political activities in Chapter Nine?

2. How does Pichuca's family respond when Tomas asks about Isabel in Chapter Four?

3. What does the Colonel tell Tomas is possible in his wanderings through the underworld?

4. What good childhood memories does Tomas have of Isabel and Nerea?

5. What does Pichuca tell Tomas he may have a chance at?

6. How do the Colonel and Tomas first meet?

7. Why does Tomas go back to Argentina in Part I after a decade out of the country?

8. In Chapter Eight, why does Isabel say she thinks she and Tomas are such good friends?

9. How does Tomas feel about his living arrangements as a college student in Buenos Aires?

10. When does Isabel tell Tomas she and Nerea felt most free as teenagers?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

How does The Colonel describe, to Tomas, the process and meaning of "crossing the border"? Why does the Colonel suggest Tomas may have an easier time than some people making this crossing? Write an essay explaining your answers.

Essay Topic 2

How does Tomas's journey through the underworld change him, and his perspective about his own past? Write an essay explaining your answers, citing specific references to the text to help support your conclusions.

Essay Topic 3

How does Tomas's early discovery of the treatment of prisoners at the ESMA (Escuela Superior de Mecánica de la Armada) in the automotores building change his own behavior and his mental health? Write an essay explaining your answers, citing specific references to the text to help support your conclusions.

(see the answer keys)

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