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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. Harry and Aguila don't leave EnviroBreed despite Ely's angry outburst. What do they find out from a bureaucrat they speak with?

2. When does Harry tell Teresa he will see her next?

3. Why does Harry shoot and kill Cal Moore?

4. Harry does not want anyone to know he came to Calexico. How does he hide this?

5. Cal Moore's wife, Sylvia, ends up coming to Moore's apartment while Harry is there. What does she tell Harry that Cal's tattoo meant?

Short Essay Questions

1. How did Aguila decide to report the missing person who ended up Juan Doe, when Mexico does not even have a missing persons bureau?

2. What was the terrible thing that Cecil did to Moore as a boy?

3. What does Calexico look like, according to the narrator?

4. What does Harry tell the man at the historical society and what is Harry really doing there?

5. Why, when people are killed accidentally at EnviroBreed, does Harry suspect they are shipped across the border illegally?

6. Why does Harry cancel his hotel room in Calexico after he talks to his colleagues in Hollywood?

7. How did the town of Calexico get its start?

8. How does Harry explain the fact that the suicide body had the same tattoo as Moore?

9. As Harry is driving back into L.A., he sees a hill scorched by fire. Despite the destruction, why is he not worried?

10. What kind of evidence does Harry collect at Juan Doe's apartment and how does he do it?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Considering Anzaldua's way of reading the border and the theory of contact zones, write an essay that explains these two terms. Drawing on the roles--as setting, as symbol, as plot device, as mood--the borderline plays in this novel, offer a detailed, text-based analysis of this way of reading. You should pick at least 5 fictional elements to describe, using textual examples.

Essay Topic 2

Narration and dialogue are the two ways Michael Connelly tells this story. Write and essay in which you:

1) Describe the narrative style of this book,

2) Describe Connolly's approach to dialogue, and

3) Pick whether you think more information in this book is conveyed to the reader in the narration or in the dialogue.

Note that there is no correct answer to 3: it is necessary to pick a side and offer persuasive textual argumentation.

Essay Topic 3

Harry Bosch is an excellent example of an anti-hero. Offer an analysis of the characterization of Harry Bosch in this novel in a tightly constructed essay. Define the terms hero and anti-hero, and explain the extent to which you (using explicit textual evidence) think these terms apply to Harry Bosch. Please also consider this question in terms of the genre of this book.

(see the answer keys)

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