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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. How does Leonel say poets are perceived in El Salvador?

2. What kind of car does Leonel drive?

3. What does using the outdoor latrine in the campo remind Forche of?

4. What are the people who disappear without a trace called?

5. What kind of crop does Leonel farm?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does the first scene Forche describes in El Salvador, on pages 3 - 4, set the tone for the rest of the book?

2. What did Forche first think the death squads were, and why did she think that?

3. What is one of the frustrating things about traveling with Leonel that bothers Forche?

4. What memory does Forche's first trip to an outdoor latrine in El Salvador trigger for her?

5. What does Forche think about Leonel's daughters during the time they all stay with her in California?

6. How does Forche feel that Leonel misunderstands her work as a poet?

7. What did Forche's experiences living in New Mexico when she was 23 teach her?

8. What does Forche remember most about her grandmother Anna?

9. What does Forche think Margarita Herrera's first impression of her is?

10. What does Forche want to do when she and Leonel come upon two dead men in the street for the first time? (108).

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What does the reader learn about Forche's childhood and upbringing from her flashbacks during her first experience using a latrine in El Salvador? (83). Write an essay explaining your answer.

Essay Topic 2

What are Forche's first impressions of Leonel's activities, friends, lifestyle, and place in society upon her first trip to El Salvador? Write an essay explaining your answer.

Essay Topic 3

What is Leonel's greatest wish for, and request of, Forche related to the time she spends in El Salvador? What does Leonel ask Forche to do, and does she feel equipped to do it? Write an essay explaining your answer.

(see the answer keys)

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