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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. Where does Paz state that the Mexican's indifference hides his life force?

2. How are the worlds of terrorism and mass production similar to each other? (Chapter Four).

3. According to Paz, what is death in modern thought?

4. In Paz's understanding of genders, how do Mexican women become like men?

5. In the book's argument, what happens when a Mexican woman is passive?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. What is left of the colonial world? Are those remnants the best or the worst parts that could be left behind?

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

4. "The pachuco has lost his whole inheritance: Language, religion, customs, and beliefs. He is left with only a body and a soul with which to confront the elements" (Chapter One, pg 15). Is that a true statement?

5. What is Paz's understanding of woman? How does it fit the Mexican mindset?

6. Why does the Mexican love Form? Other than in personal relationships, how does that idea express itself?

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

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

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

10. Who is the Chingada? What relation does she hold to every Mexican, whether male or female?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Who is the Chingada? What roots does she have in Aztec religion and history? Like her opposite, the Virgin of Guadalupe, is redemption possible?

Essay Topic 2

When does a Mexican come into conflict with his fellow man, especially another Mexican? What are the facets of the clash? How is it resolved?

Essay Topic 3

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?

(see the answer keys)

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