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This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Paz says that during critical moments in a nation's development, the people ask themselves a critical question. What is that question?
(a) Who are we and how can we fulfill this obligation?
(b) Who should lead us?
(c) How do we want the future to look?
(d) How can we move forward?

2. How do Mexicans avoid the dangers of romantic relationships, according to Paz?
(a) By denying the importance of the other.
(b) By stifling their feelings.
(c) By exaggerating their feelings.
(d) By not truly loving.

3. Other than solitude, what does the Mexican often feel in relation to other peoples?
(a) Weakness.
(b) Complete isolation.
(c) Inferiority.
(d) Intellectualism.

4. According to Paz, why does the liar tell lies to himself?
(a) He is afraid of the world.
(b) He is afraid of himself.
(c) He is afraid of finding truth in other people.
(d) He does not know the truth.

5. What masculine trait enters into the idea of feminine modesty?
(a) Strength.
(b) Love.
(c) Vanity.
(d) Protection.

6. To follow Paz's previous argument, what is the result when one Mexican confides in another?
(a) Dishonor.
(b) Affection.
(c) Sadness.
(d) Alienation.

7. Where does Paz state that the Mexican's indifference hides his life force?
(a) In silence.
(b) Behind a veil of rationalism.
(c) Behind a death mask.
(d) Within a jumble of emotions.

8. What is the difference between the Mexican killer and the modern one?
(a) The Mexican obliterates an object, not a man.
(b) The Mexican kills a man, not an object.
(c) The Mexican kills as an expression of love.
(d) Only the Mexican killer expresses true hatred.

9. Chapter Three begins with the great effect that fiestas and public celebrations have. What is this effect?
(a) They stop the flow of time.
(b) They bring people together with unusual dynamics.
(c) They increase man's sense of his mortality.
(d) They emphasize man's individuality.

10. To which of the following does Paz reduce the Mexican character? (Chapter Four, page 73).
(a) The Mexican is stronger when he is alone.
(b) The Mexican is himself only in the crowd of a fiesta or ceremony.
(c) The Mexican does not dare or want to be himself.
(d) The Mexican only lives when he faces death.

11. Why does a Mexican blend into his surroundings and become solely Appearance?
(a) He fears appearances.
(b) He wants to end his individuality.
(c) He fears human interaction.
(d) He loves appearance.

12. What does Paz deem to be the first and most serious change that a man endures when he becomes a worker?
(a) He loses his individuality.
(b) He loses communion with his fellow man.
(c) He stops earning what he is worth.
(d) He loses his sense of the Divine.

13. When is the fiesta of Grito celebrated?
(a) April 16 at 11:00 AM.
(b) August 3 at 9:00 AM.
(c) October 31 at 3:00 PM.
(d) September 15 at 11:00 PM.

14. Above all other definitions, who is the Chingada?
(a) A living mother.
(b) The representation of violated womanhood.
(c) A mythical mother.
(d) The representation of virginity.

15. According to Paz, what does it mean when a person is alone?
(a) He can never relate to other people.
(b) He is superior.
(c) He is different.
(d) He is inferior.

Short Answer Questions

1. What model do Mexicans prefer that the woman follow?

2. What contributes to the power of the word, chingar, and all of its derivations?

3. What is the novelty of the pachuco clothing?

4. When Aztec victims were sacrificed, why did their deaths lack personal meaning?

5. Why did the sense of Mexicanism "float" in the air of Los Angeles?

(see the answer keys)

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