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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

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

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

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

4. In his obsession with hygiene, work, and health, what does the North American miss?
(a) True anger.
(b) All-consuming love.
(c) Truth.
(d) True joy.

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

Short Answer Questions

1. Paz discusses the result of persecution on the pachuco. What is that result?

2. As explained in Chapter One, who are the pachucos?

3. Why does the modern novelist rarely choose the worker as his protagonist?

4. When does intimacy sprout among Mexicans?

5. 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?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Mexico's poverty relate to the fiesta? What French interpretation did it inspire?

2. How do Mexicans view their bodies? How does their view contribute to their wish for privacy?

3. What happens during the fiesta? What is the emotional result?

4. How does Paz explain the Mexican woman's role in society? How does that strip her of her personality?

5. How is the modern murderer different from a murderer of the past? How has modernity contributed to that difference?

6. According to Alarcon, why does the liar lie to himself? Given what you know of the Mexican mindset, does that make sense?

7. What is the character of the Mexican's solitude? How does it differ from the solitude of the North American?

8. How important are fiestas in Mexican culture? What relationship exists between the fiesta and the individual?

9. What is the modern view of death? How is it dramatically different from the Aztec view?

10. What is dissimulation? How does it compare to lying? How does it affect the Mexican's idea of himself?

(see the answer keys)

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