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This quiz consists of 5 multiple choice and 5 short answer questions through The Day of the Dead.

Multiple Choice 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?
(a) His neighbor reveals the disillusioned character of Mexico.
(b) The glance could spark rage.
(c) The glance could reveal his isolation.
(d) His neighbor is a pathetic version of himself.

2. When Aztec victims were sacrificed, why did their deaths lack personal meaning?
(a) No one was left to mourn for them.
(b) They were at the bottom of the social scale.
(c) Any sacrifice to the gods was seen impersonally.
(d) Their lives did not belong to them.

3. How does the philosophy of progress treat death?
(a) It pretends to make death disappear.
(b) It treats death as one more step in life.
(c) It disregards death entirely.
(d) It minimizes death.

4. Through dissimulation, what does a Mexican attempt to do?
(a) Share his individuality with others to make it real.
(b) Become himself in contradistinction to others.
(c) Withdraw from society to save his individuality.
(d) Become invisible and save his individuality.

5. In Paz's understanding of genders, how do Mexican women become like men?
(a) Through self-denial.
(b) Through suffering.
(c) In love.
(d) Through sacrifice.

Short Answer Questions

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

2. According to Paz, what does it mean when a person is alone?

3. In the book's argument, what happens when a Mexican woman is passive?

4. According to Paz's argument, what is the source of the North American's irritation with the pachuco?

5. Why does a Mexican blend into his surroundings and become solely Appearance?

(see the answer key)

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