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. Why does Cantu's mother tell him she insisted on keeping her maiden name after she married his father?

2. Where are migrants who survive the crossing of the desert often shepherded by smugglers inside the U.S.?

3. What does Cantu's supervisor tell him he might find at first in his new job in intelligence?

4. What animal features in one of Cantu's unsettling dreams on page 14?

5. Where does Cantu's mother live?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Adam say when Cantu asks him why his town is called the vampire town?

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

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

4. What does Cantu feel when he goes to visit Morales in the hospital following his motorcycle accident?

5. 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?

6. What contradictory symbols and feelings does the wolf in Cantu's dream at the beginning of the book convey?

7. Why does one of the older man from Michoacan ask Cantu if there is any work for him to do at the Border Patrol station as he awaits deportation processing?

8. How does Mortenson treat Cantu when they first meet on the job?

9. What does Cantu discover that some coyotes, or smugglers who are paid to help immigrants cross the border illegally, give to immigrants to "help" on their journey?

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write an essay discussing Cantu's reasons for finally deciding to leave his work as a Border Patrol agent. At the end of the book, how do you think Cantu ultimately feels about his years working for the Border Patrol?

Essay Topic 2

When Cantu tells his mother he has decided to become a Border Patrol officer, she is apprehensive and honest with him about her many misgivings surrounding this choice. Write an essay analyzing Cantu's mother's reasons against him joining the Border Patrol forces.

Essay Topic 3

Why do you think Cantu chose to include a detailed explanation of Jose's story to close the book? What does Jose's story reveal about the struggles many undocumented immigrants face when dealing with the U.S. immigration system?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 913 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample