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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. How does the old woman describe Makina’s brother?

2. What is the first thing Makina thinks when she sees her brother?

3. Which statue does Makina need to look for next?

4. What does the woman tell Makina about her brother’s condition when he showed up?

5. What effect does Makina’s writing have?

Short Essay Questions

1. What kind of omen does the light in the sky give Makina when she arrives at the address?

2. What is Makina’s reaction when she sees her brother?

3. What happened when Makina’s brother came back from the war?

4. How does the narrator describe the boy whose place Makina’s brother took, in the army?

5. Who does Makina meet at the army base before she meets her brother?

6. What drives Makina to take shelter in an ATM booth?

7. Who does Makina find at the address she gets from the restaurant?

8. How does the narrator describe Makina's transition from one city to the next?

9. How does Makina’s brother explain why Mexican people stay in the U.S.?

10. How does Makina say she found her brother?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

How would you rewrite Signs Preceding the End of the World, if you were to adapt it and make it your own? What part of the book would you preserve? What part would you change? Explain your motivation for the changes you would make.

Essay Topic 2

Write an evaluative review of Signs Preceding the End of the World. What is this book’s place in culture? What are its uses? What are its limitations?

Essay Topic 3

Where is the climax of this book? Are there different climaxes? What questions does each climax resolve? What questions does each climax leave unanswered?

(see the answer keys)

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