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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. Who was the "bad-toothed scrapper" (85) that joined Mendez on the walk through the Devil's Highway?

2. What size of group was considered a "magic number" for Coyotes?

3. Why does Urrea dismiss the possibility that the lights came from a "rogue" Border Patrol agent?

4. Which of the men does Urrea describe as the "grandpa" of the group?

5. What sign of civilization did the walkers find before meeting Mike F.?

Short Essay Questions

1. What are the initial signs of heat stress?

2. What did the walkers discuss with their Coyotes on the morning of May 21?

3. What geographical feature did Mendez get lost in, as if it were a maze?

4. What happens to the expedition led by Santos?

5. What caused the group to break apart after they pressed on without Mendez?

6. What form of payment did Mendez insist on receiving?

7. What disrupted the walkers' plans at Bluebird Pass?

8. How does Urrea describe Reymundo Sr.'s treatment of his son?

9. What are the toilets of budget border motels incapable of doing?

10. How does Urrea explain the low quality of budget border motels?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Urrea uses many racial and occupational epithets over the course of The Devil's Highway, occasionally providing etymological explanations for more obscure entries. Choose three or more examples from the book, then describe their use and surrounding context. Use your findings to respond to Urrea's reflections on this practice as expressed in the afterword.

Essay Topic 2

Urrea describes the actions of anti-immigration and pro-immigration activists at length within The Devil's Highway. Explore Urrea's depiction of either side in the debate, focusing on his description of their activities and motives, and the tone he achieves when describing them.

Essay Topic 3

Though The Devil's Highway is a non-fiction book, in incorporates many poeticized and fictionalized passages. Choose one or more passages from the book incorporating a poetic or literary technique such as stanzas, dialogue, metaphor, personification, symbolism, or character development. Explain how the technique is used in the passage, both justifying your choice as an example of the technique specified and analyzing the effect the technique's usage has on the reader. Conclude by explaining how the use of this technique impacts the book's truthfulness.

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This section contains 600 words (approx. 2 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample