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This quiz consists of 5 multiple choice and 5 short answer questions through Chapter 2 Mexican Masks.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What duality does the pachuco represent?
(a) A clown whose purpose is terror.
(b) A saint deeply involved in scandal.
(c) A fiend whose trademark is hearty laughter.
(d) A victim obsessed with revenge.

2. What is the Spanish view of women in contrast to the Mexican?
(a) Women are idols.
(b) Women are shaped by the minds of men.
(c) Women are wild and lecherous.
(d) Women are decent and modest.

3. When Paz first arrived in the United States, what surprised him most about the people?
(a) Their honesty and sense of community.
(b) Their lack of openness.
(c) Their confidence and self-assurance.
(d) Their confidence in the future of the nation.

4. In Paz's thought, what does a study of the great myths reveal?
(a) Man will never truly be saved.
(b) Man has broken the order of the universe.
(c) Man will continually become better than he is now.
(d) Man can only be saved by something other than himself.

5. Why do Mexicans tell lies (Chapter Two)?
(a) Merely for the enjoyment of it.
(b) To protect the other person.
(c) To hide themselves.
(d) To create confusion.

Short Answer Questions

1. As Paz begins Chapter Two, he says that the Mexican is always afraid to glance at his neighbor. What reason does he give for that?

2. According to Paz, why does the liar tell lies to himself?

3. What did Paz find in the actions and faces of North Americans?

4. Why are a woman's instincts those of a species rather than her own?

5. What analogy does Paz use to explain Mexico's history?

(see the answer key)

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