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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. Where is the planned ultimate destination for Luiselli's road trip with her family?

2. What part of Luiselli's first-day plan goes awry due to the volume of refugee children she receives in the office?

3. In what year did Luiselli begin working as an interpreter in the New York immigration court?

4. How many Central Americans are estimated to ride La Bestia annually?

5. The Mara Salvatrucha 13 gang started as a small coalition of immigrants from what country?

Short Essay Questions

1. According to Luiselli, what do refugee children try to do if and when they do reach the United States and why?

2. Which actions taken by Luiselli and her niece demonstrate the women's dedication to helping victims of the refugee crisis?

3. What does Luiselli mean when she states that Manu's police report acted as "a road map of a migration"? (43)

4. What does the police report symbolize?

5. How does Luiselli create a contrast in Part II: Court between two types of emergencies related to the refugee crisis?

6. What irony does Luiselli point out within the questions asking a child refugee, "Are you happy here?" and "Do you feel safe"? (44)

7. What skill does Luiselli present as the most important one when she interviews child refugees in court?

8. For what reason are child refugees often untruthful or evasive in their answers to the intake questionnaire?

9. With what question does Part I: Border begin and why?

10. What statement does Luiselli make about the notion of accountability for a child refugee's safety?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss the significance of the coda included at the end of Valeria Luiselli’s essay.

Essay Topic 2

How does Valeria Luiselli go about breaking the text into parts and how do these structural elements help to advance her arguments?

Essay Topic 3

Examine the role of the author's niece within the essay. How does the author use the role of her niece to highlight the themes within the overall narrative?

(see the answer keys)

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