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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. On the way to Veneza’s apartment, where does Bronca stop to talk to her?

2. Who stays with Bronca when she spends the night at the Center?

3. What does Bronca call the leader of the art group that shows up at the Center?

4. How does Padmini manage to get next door so quickly?

5. Where is the Primary hidden?

Short Essay Questions

1. Who is Conall McGuiness?

2. What does Padmini realize is “wrong” at her next door neighbor’s?

3. Why is the Primary asleep, as Bronca realizes in Chapter 9?

4. Describe Brooklyn's relationship to her daughter Jojo.

5. Why are the photographs of graffiti from around the city so important to Bronca?

6. What is the attitude of Padmini's relatives and neighbors when Sao Paulo arrives?

7. What happens when a city is born?

8. What is Manny’s special connection to the Primary?

9. While she is talking to the voice in the bathroom stall, what event does Bronca remember from her childhood?

10. How do Padmini’s neighbors feel about her and what does this reveal?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

How does the metaphor of birth relate to the novel’s themes?

Essay Topic 2

Write an essay in which you consider how these avatars fit into the hero mold and how ways in which they do not.

Essay Topic 3

Each of the avatars is from a different cultural/ racial background, and there are tense conflicts with white power groups. Write an essay in which you discuss the role race plays in the novel.

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