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. Which of the following is one of the most common types of metaphors used by journalists writing about migrant deaths?

2. Why does Jose have problems getting back into the U.S. from Mexico?

3. What do Cantu and Beto help Manuel do on page 139?

4. What happens to Jose's middle son that Jose tells Cantu he is worried about on page 168?

5. Which of the following cities suffered damage during the Mexican Revolution?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why is Lupe, Jose's wife, not able to visit the detention center where he is being held awaiting a final decision on his case?

2. What Greek story does Cantu mention and compare to some of the tragedies he sees playing out in the desert through his job?

3. What does the woman whose feet Cantu bandages tell him about himself pn page 154?

4. What does Beto tell Cantu he thinks is a harbinger of death in his family on page 120?

5. What are the three categories of metaphors that sociologist Jane Zavisca identified in media coverage of migrant deaths?

6. What does Hayward tell Cantu's new colleagues in Tucson, Beto and Manuel, about Cantu's skills?

7. What does Cantu tell Jose when Jose asks him if he ever found drugs at the border during his work for Border Patrol?

8. What does Beto tell Cantu about his background and his aspirations for his career with Border Patrol?

9. What does POW stand for at Border Patrol?

10. How does Cantu get to know Jose, and how does their friendship grow?

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

In the last few pages of the book, Cantu visits Big Bend National Park on the Rio Grande River, right on the U.S./Mexico border. For a moment, as he stands in the river, he forgets what country he is standing in. What does Cantu's experience in Big Bend represent about his own feelings and hopes for the future as they relate to the border? Write an essay explaining your answer.

Essay Topic 3

Cantu does not have a relationship with his father, but he and his mother are very close and he is able, at times, to confide in her about his problems and hopes. Write an essay analyzing the meaning of Cantu's relationship with his mother, and how this relationship underscores one of the book's themes about the importance of close family bonds.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 827 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample