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

2. What word does the woman say is currently used as "a euphemism for 'deportation'" (132)?

3. Which member of the family ends up with the warrior name of Lucky Arrow?

4. What animal does the boy hope will appear in the photograph he takes at the Baltimore aquarium?

5. The vigil described by the woman had involved the attendees placing their hands on what object as they say the names of missing family members?

Short Essay Questions

1. What prompts the woman to begin to record the man's Apache stories as he tells them?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

9. How does the woman react to hearing the radio interview with the boy being held in a Texas detention center?

10. Describe the differences between the man's sound work and the woman's sound work.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

William Faulkner once famously claimed that the most important literature deals with the subject of the human heart in conflict with itself. Explain how the theme of Human versus Self is demonstrated within Luiselli’s novel Lost Children Archive. Create a decisive, arguable claim and prove it with quotes from the novel.

Essay Topic 2

Look carefully at the passages of Lost Children Archive that describe the close relationship between the boy and the girl at the center of the text. What is Luiselli’s purpose for discussing at length the nature of the connection between the boy and the girl?

Essay Topic 3

Analyze the ways in which the themes of adaptability and resignation appear within Luiselli’s novel Lost Children Archive. What message is Luiselli sending about these two themes over the course of the narrative?

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