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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. The family is pulled over for what kind of traffic violation at one point early in their road trip?
(a) Running a red light.
(b) Jaywalking.
(c) Speeding.
(d) Not stopping at a stop sign.

2. The woman recalls that when she had been three months' pregnant with the girl, she had visited which of her family members in Chicago?
(a) Her father.
(b) Her sister.
(c) Her mother.
(d) Her brother.

3. From what state does the family at the center of the narrative depart at the beginning of the novel?
(a) New York.
(b) California.
(c) Puebla.
(d) New Mexico.

4. Which member of the family ends up with the warrior name of Memphis?
(a) The girl.
(b) The man.
(c) The woman.
(d) The boy.

5. What emotion does the woman say that the boy "normally represses" (37)?
(a) Boredom.
(b) Anger.
(c) Sadness.
(d) Enthusiasm.

Short Answer Questions

1. Whenever the woman turns on the radio in the family car, the first line of what novel is heard before anything else?

2. Which member of the family at the narrative's center identifies as a "documentarist" (98)?

3. How old is the boy upon the narrative's opening?

4. At the time of the narrative's beginning, which character has just had a birthday the previous day?

5. The boy and girl are said to listen to the man "most attentively" (44) when he talks about which historical figure?

Short Essay Questions

1. In what way does Luiselli use the traditional notion of the American Dream to comment on the reasons refugees from the Northern Triangle leave their homes?

2. What does the reader learn about La Bestia when the family listens to a radio interview with a child refugee?

3. What "superstitious impulse" (68) is the woman always unable to resist?

4. Describe an instance when the girl's vivacious personality influences the rest of the family's behavior.

5. While the woman does not keep a journal, she uses what other method that she believes serves the same purpose?

6. While the man wants the road trip to end in Arizona, the woman wants to visit what state so that she can pursue her own next project?

7. Compare and contrast the woman's response to the boy's angry outbursts with the man's reaction.

8. How is the road trip from New York to Arizona a symbol of the family's imminent separation?

9. What sort of text is included within the man's Box III that is not included within the woman's box?

10. How does the woman define documentation for the boy?

(see the answer keys)

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