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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. As the closure to Chapter Two, the reader sees what shadow spreading out over Mexico?

2. In Paz's example of the village near Mitla, how is their yearly income spent?

3. In Paz's thought, what does a study of the great myths reveal?

4. Why are a woman's instincts those of a species rather than her own?

5. Chapter Three begins with the great effect that fiestas and public celebrations have. What is this effect?

Short Essay Questions

1. Who is the Virgin of Guadalupe? How is she an important part of Mexican identity?

2. In the author's parable, who is Nobody? Is it possible for Nobody to break the progression of his existence? Why or why not?

3. What group of people did the author have in mind as he wrote the book? How and why did those people become important to him?

4. What is the Mexican view of death? When does death become saddest?

5. What is the origin of the pachuco? How does that characterization prepare the reader for the rest of the book?

6. What is the Mexican's ideal of manliness? How does it affect his interactions with other people?

7. When does Paz say that a nation questions itself? Is it necessary?

8. What mutual problem do both the Mexican and the North American face? What is the solution to that problem?

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

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

When does the author mention the Mexican ripping open his breast to reveal his emotions? What similarities and differences do those stories share? What emotions are encapsulated within them?

Essay Topic 2

What are the gender roles explained throughout the book? Given the culture and the time, what are the gender expectations? Who acts against those expectations?

Essay Topic 3

What is Mexico's relation to the rest of the world? How is it different from the past? What are Paz's hopes and fears for the future? Do you agree or disagree with his ideas?

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