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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. According to Urrea, what did men driving home from America bring with them to Veracruz in Chapter 2?

2. What state were the walkers discovered in?

3. According to Urrea, what two factors most unite the Mexican consular corps and the American Border Patrol?

4. With which of his family members did Reymundo Barreda Maruri Sr. travel?

5. What was the nationality of the first group of undocumented immigrants hunted by American Border Patrol in the 1880s?

Short Essay Questions

1. Who is Mike F.?

2. According to Urrea, what is the most sensible interpretation of the sign "USA Prohibido!" for Spanish-speakers?

3. Why were the walkers hoping to encounter Border Patrol agents, even though they were crossing without authorization?

4. According to Urrea, how did Operation Gatekeeper change border crossings?

5. How does the sign warning travelers in Sasabe describe the Coyotes?

6. Who joined Reymundo Barreda Maruri Sr. on his journey?

7. What is done with the dead at the consulate building before they are prepared for burial?

8. What were economic conditions like when the Yuma 14 lived in Veracruz?

9. To whom does the term "Coyotes" refer?

10. Why do some guides feed their walkers diet pills?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Many of the central subjects in the Devil's Highway have some level of involvement with organized crime and Urrea devotes significant space to describing their culture and methods. Write an essay analyzing the cultural codes and common practices of the gangsters described within the book, using evidence from the text to explain how these codes and practices ultimately led to the death of the Yuma 14.

Essay Topic 2

Urrea concludes the afterword to The Devil's Highway by asking the reader, "What Would Jesus Do?" Use evidence from the text and any additional research you may need to explain the question's relevance to the events and themes of the book. Conclude by suggesting what answer or answers may be supported by the text.

Essay Topic 3

Urrea writes in the afterword, "The border can be seen either as a hideous scare that binds two warring cultures together.... Or it can be seen as an imaginary line that unites overlapping human tribes" (234). Write an essay comparing and contrasting these two visions of the border. Cite passages in the text that correspond to either vision, analyzing Urrea's rhetoric and choice of details to determine which vision is expressed.

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