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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. In "These Hands, If Not Gods," what is the antecedent of the word "they" in the opening line "Haven't they moved like rivers?" (7)?

2. What distinguishes "Run'n'Gun" from the poems that come before it in the collection?

3. In "Ink-Light," what technique is employed in the line, "I touch her with the eyes of my skin" (34)?

4. What does the opening of "Postcolonial Love Poem" claim that moonstones can do?

5. In "The Mustangs," what is the purpose of mentioning the brother's "thin ankles" (35)?

Short Essay Questions

1. What play on the word "race" is used in "American Arithmetic"?

2. In "From the Desire Field," what is the "desire field," and why does the speaker find herself there?

3. In "The Mustangs," what is important to the speaker about her brother's appearance?

4. In "The Mustangs," why does the speaker open the poem by reminding the reader that it was "In another life" that her brother was a high-school athlete (35)?

5. In "Ink-Light," how are colors used to shift the poem's tone?

6. In "Run'n'Gun," what life lessons does the speaker learn from playing basketball?

7. In what way does the page 1 opening line of "Postcolonial Love Poem," ("I've been taught bloodstones can cure a snakebite") center the Mojave worldview?

8. What is a literal summary of the action of "Blood-Light"?

9. What is the setting of "Manhattan Is a Lenape Word"?

10. In "They Don't Love You Like I Love You," why does the speaker mention Beyoncé and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write an essay in which you explore how the fusion of land, body, and spirit in Postcolonial Love Poem centers the Mojave worldview. Use evidence from throughout the collection in support of your thesis, and if you utilize outside sources, be sure to cite them in MLA format.

Essay Topic 2

Write an essay in which you make and defend a claim about Diaz's use of humor in Postcolonial Love Poem. Where does she employ it, and to what purpose? Use evidence from at least five poems in the collection to support your ideas.

Essay Topic 3

Write an essay that analyzes the "wounds" motif in Postcolonial Love Poem. How do wounds function at both a literal and a symbolic level, and what positive function do poems in this collection seem to suggest wounds might serve? Be sure to support your analysis with evidence from at least five poems in the collection.

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