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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. According to Trotsky, what should happen if the Revolution does not break out in advanced nations following World War II?
(a) The Marxist view of history should be revised.
(b) Socialism should be forced on those nations.
(c) The Marxist view of economics should be revised.
(d) Socialism should be abandoned altogether.

2. How did the Reform want to justify itself?
(a) Through its changes.
(b) Through its popularity.
(c) Through its past.
(d) Through the future.

3. What was sacrificed when Porfirio Diaz took power and subdued anarchy?
(a) Nothing.
(b) Liberty.
(c) Possibility.
(d) Equality.

4. When Paz sees that Mexicans return to their tradition, what do they remember?
(a) That they do not belong to a greater universal tradition.
(b) That they are part of Spain's tradition.
(c) That their tradition is mostly Indian.
(d) That their tradition is rooted in conquest and slavery.

5. What is the value of Sor Juana's poem, "First Dream"?
(a) A penetrating analysis of the effects of European influence.
(b) A philosophical look at Catholicism.
(c) A comprehensive history of the Indians before Cortez.
(d) A philosophical look at the depth of reality.

Short Answer Questions

1. What did positivism do with the ideals of the Reformation?

2. According to the tribe of the Chamulas, what is a chulel?

3. How did the Revolution relate to reality?

4. During the Revolution, whom did the intelligentsia make the focal point of its activities?

5. Why did the Spaniards not exterminate the Indians after they were conquered?

Short Essay Questions

1. What role did Catholicism play in the lives of the conquering Spaniards? Was that role contradictory?

2. What role did religion play in ancient South American cultures? Did Catholicism change that role?

3. How was the Revolution similar to a fiesta? Because of any existing similarity, why do the people cling to that time in history? Can that be considered healthy?

4. Mexico has entered a new phase of thinking and history. How does Paz explain that phase?

5. What happened when Spanish America separated itself from Spain? Given what Paz has stated throughout the book about that moment in history, draw your own conclusions about why that happened.

6. What does Paz say about the national differences among Central and South American nations? How does that tie into their relationship with Spain?

7. Despite Mexico's advancements, where does she still stand on the world spectrum? How can she change her placement?

8. Why was the Aztec nation able to unify so many diverse tribes? How were they quite skilled with that type of action?

9. Why did the new Constitution mandate that education be secular? How might that have made the Mexicans feel?

10. How does Paz explain the suicides of the Aztec people? Is it a reasonable explanation?

(see the answer keys)

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