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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 "Punch and Whisky," why are the officers avoiding Liz?

2. In "Contemplating the Trees," how often does China Iron say people in her community need to work?

3. In "Light is Doubled on the Islands," what excuse does Liz give when she goes into town to buy nets?

4. In the section of "El Gaucho Martín Fierro" that Liz quotes in "Goodbye Colonel," whom do the Indians kill?

5. In "Punch and Whisky," what does Liz suggest the Colonel do to improve his health?

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe the final image of her community with which China Iron ends her story.

2. Although it is dispersed over several chapters, what is the chronological story of the community's relationship with the Guarani?

3. In "But We Don't Have Any Weapons," what argument does the community have, and who is on each side of the dispute?

4. What transformation in Martín does China Iron see when she first visits his tent, and what causes her to feel this way?

5. In his last conversation with Liz, while they are discussing the Indians, what ideas does the Colonel share about the land and progress?

6. In "That Strange Gaucho Who Fancied Himself as a Writer," how does the Colonel end up seemingly offending Liz?

7. What is ironic about the Colonel's belief that he did Martín Fierro a favor by stealing his poetry?

8. Explain what Liz believes about Campo Malo and its relationship to the rest of the fort.

9. In what way does the use of indigenous words in "Part Three: Indian Territory" support the novel's themes?

10. In "Punch and Whiskey," what plan does Liz enact?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write an essay in which you choose two characters (male or female) and compare and contrast their attitudes toward women. Support your claims with evidence from the text.

Essay Topic 2

Write an essay in which you make and defend a claim about the changes in Liz's behavior while they are at Hernández's fort. Your essay should explain what changes in her behavior, what part of the changes is pretense and what part is sincere, and what the significance of the changes is to the overall text. Be sure to offer textual evidence to support your claims.

Essay Topic 3

Write an essay in which you evaluate the utopia in "Part Three: Indian Territory." Divide your essay into two sections. First, provide an analytical section in which you show why this is a "paradise" for China Iron, using textual evidence to back your claims. Second, make and defend a claim about whether this is a more generalizable utopia--that is, would it function as a paradise for most humans? In this second section, you are not being asked to make moral or ethical claims. Instead, base your evaluation in psychological and sociological research on human happiness. Be sure to cite all sources in MLA format.

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