View a FREE sample

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

Short Answer Questions

1. What is Adam's reaction when Cantu asks him why his village is called a "vampire" village?

2. When Cantu stops a suspicious car on page 70, what false name does one of the men give to Cantu?

3. What does one of the Border Patrol agents bring to the young immigrant sisters on page 51, hoping it will make them feel better?

4. Where did the man and his wife that Cantu picks up on the reservation on page 39 come to the U.S. from?

5. Who climbed to a peak south of the international boundary line in 1706 and realized California was connected to Mexico?

Short Essay Questions

1. Who did Cantu's mother name him after and what was his namesake known for?

2. What is one main reason why Cantu's mother does not want him to become a Border Patrol agent?

3. What does the dentist who works on Cantu's mouth surmise about his problem grinding his teeth?

4. How did the two young sisters who were brought in to the Border Patrol station alone react to their processing and questioning?

5. How was the modern-day boundary between the U.S. and Mexico first defined?

6. Why is Cantu so nervous when he comes home from work late one night to see a man lurking in the dark on his street?

7. What do Morales and Cantu see in the night sky that leaves an impression on them during one of their patrols together?

8. What does Cantu's mother tell him about her feelings looking back on her career as a National Parks worker?

9. Why do Cantu and other Border Patrol agents destroy any of the belongings and provisions they find in the desert?

10. Why did Hart's roommate, Dominguez, quit the Border Patrol training?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write an essay analyzing how Cantu connects Mexico's history of wars, other conflicts, violence, and suffering (the idea of the so-called "100-year cycles) to the modern-day problems at the country's border with the United States.

Essay Topic 2

When Cantu is transferred to a desk job in intelligence at the Border Patrol Office in Tucson, Arizona, he has a difficult time adjusting to the work. Write an essay analyzing Cantu's feelings about the change in his job duties and why it is so difficult for him to transfer from field work to desk work.

Essay Topic 3

Cantu cites research by various linguists that has examined the dehumanizing language media professionals, politicians, and others often use to describe undocumented immigrants. Write an essay analyzing the various different manifestations of cultural bias towards undocumented immigrants as they appear through common uses of language that Cantu discusses.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 867 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample