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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. When the family reaches a motel modeled after Elvis's persona, which member of the family has enthusiasm that proves to be contagious?
(a) The girl.
(b) The woman.
(c) The boy.
(d) The man.

2. Manuela reports to the woman that her two daughters have disappeared somewhere between two detention centers in what states?
(a) Texas and Arizona.
(b) California and Arizona.
(c) New Mexico and Arizona.
(d) New Mexico and Texas.

3. At the time of the narrative's beginning, which character has just had a birthday the previous day?
(a) The husband.
(b) The boy.
(c) The wife.
(d) The girl.

4. The woman compares a documentarist to what other career position?
(a) A chemist.
(b) A fortuneteller.
(c) A doctor.
(d) A librarian.

5. Which member of the family gets the greatest number of allocated boxes for the trip?
(a) The girl.
(b) The boy.
(c) The woman.
(d) The man.

Short Answer Questions

1. The woman reflects upon the fact that "it takes clarity of mind and humility of heart" to understand that children can read and understand what text?

2. The woman realizes at one point that the boy and girl use the term "lost children" (74) to refer to whom?

3. During the road trip, the girl develops an obsession with a book called "The Book with No" (99) what?

4. Each member of the family buys something when the family ventures into what kind of store during their road trip?

5. What past tense verb does the woman use to indicate what happened to the girl's biological father?

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe how Luiselli uses the theme of appearance versus reality to characterize the notion of romantic partnership.

2. For what purpose does the family plan to travel to Lawton?

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

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

5. What do the boy and girl call child refugees and what is the woman's reaction to their choice?

6. When the woman is conflicted about whether to record the sounds of the family's road trip, what does she say she wishes she could do instead?

7. 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?

8. Discuss one of the quotes Luiselli uses as an epigraph within Part I: Soundscapes and how its themes are reflected within the first few passages of the novel.

9. What object does the woman collect during the trip and keep inside her boot for the remainder of the trip and why?

10. For what purpose does the family at the center of the narrative bring bankers' boxes along on their road trip?

(see the answer keys)

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