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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. How did Paz consider his philosophical questions?
(a) As the only means to find answers.
(b) As an excuse for not facing reality.
(c) As meaningful only if they addressed the question of Mexican identity.
(d) As a waste of time.

2. In Paz's opinion, when is a person most likely to see himself as precious and unique?
(a) At the end of his life.
(b) When he is in love.
(c) In childhood.
(d) During adolescence.

3. According to Paz, what is death in modern thought?
(a) The predictable end to a natural progression.
(b) The putting to rest of all sorrow.
(c) The end of all unworthy men.
(d) The avoidable end to a wasted life.

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

5. What did Paz find in the actions and faces of North Americans?
(a) A faith in their society and confidence in its survival.
(b) A fear about the survival of their society.
(c) An unrealistic optimism about the future.
(d) A faith in man's intrinsic goodness and its effects on their culture.

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

7. How does a man become "like the angels" (Chapter Three, page 61)?
(a) By entrusting everything to God.
(b) By valuing life to its final moment.
(c) By running from death to an embracement of life.
(d) By opening fully to death, as well as to life.

8. In contrast to the North American, what is one of the most noticeable traits about the Mexican character?
(a) His obsession with love.
(b) His acceptance of horror.
(c) His aversion to horror.
(d) His disinterest in emotional attachments.

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

10. How are the evil words a sign and seal?
(a) They pull men out of their solitude.
(b) They seal the intention of the speaker.
(c) They project the result that they will bring.
(d) They identify fellow Mexicans among strangers.

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

12. What mentality does Paz attribute to the Mexican?
(a) Leader.
(b) Servant.
(c) Master.
(d) Victim.

13. 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 increase man's sense of his mortality.
(c) They emphasize man's individuality.
(d) They bring people together with unusual dynamics.

14. Why are woman considered inferior people?
(a) They open themselves up in submission.
(b) They are too emotionally attached.
(c) They are not as intelligent as men.
(d) They are not as reticent as men.

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

Short Answer Questions

1. Why did Catholicism drastically change the Aztec view of life?

2. What happens when the Mexican dissimulates?

3. According to Paz, how does death end when a civilization denies it?

4. What connotation does the verb, chingar, carry?

5. What type of book did Xavier Villaurrutia write?

(see the answer keys)

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