2. 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?

3. What make of car does the family buy for the road trip?

4. How many daughters does Manuela have?

5. In answer to the boy's query, the woman says that "documenting just means to collect the present for" (102) what?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

10. 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?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

How are the topics of romantic relationships, love, and sex treated within the novel Lost Children Archive and how does their treatment relate to the novel's depicted messages?