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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. In the eighth elegy of the book Elegies for Lost Children, it is revealed that the boys in the group are allowed to relieve themselves a maximum of how many times per day while riding atop the train?

2. The coyote in Elegies for Lost Children begins with how many children under his supervision on their way to the United States?

3. On what type of document does the boy draw the route he and the girl plan to take as they set out in search of lost people?

4. At what kind of establishment has the family stopped when they hear about the imminent deportation of children?

5. The woman believes that her voice as a mother needs to serve "as a" (160) what to her children's worlds?

Short Essay Questions

1. Which section of the fifth elegy causes the woman to stop reading to the boy?

2. In what way does the motif of music enter the part of the narrative when the boy and girl enter a diner to get some water?

3. What event causes the boy to become unhappy for the first time since he and the girl had set out on their journey together?

4. What example does the boy give when he claims that the girl is "sometimes really smart" (196)?

5. How does the boy plan to find the way to the town of Lordsburg and what does he plan to do once he and the girl reach Lordsburg?

6. What commonalities does the boy find between the careers of the man and the woman?

7. What does the reader learn by the end of Part I about the woman's own childhood?

8. What bright spot does the boy say will remain in the situation even if the man and woman never find the two of them?

9. How does the fictional author of Elegies for Lost Children demonstrate the way in which the "man in charge" (164) despises being asked questions?

10. What does the airplane symbolize within the Virginia Woolf epigraph at the start of Family Soundscapes: "Box IV"?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What messages does Luiselli send about family bonds and what themes are employed in order to send these messages to the reader?

Essay Topic 2

Analyze Luiselli’s focus on the plight of refugee children depicted in Lost Children Archive. What message is Luiselli sending about this social issue?

Essay Topic 3

Write a critical essay about Lost Children Archive while using the critical power theory lens of Marxist theory. Use textual evidence to back up your strong, specific claim regarding the novel's treatment of issues such as socioeconomic status, hierarchies, wealth, class, or any other issues related to Marxist theory that can be found in the novel.

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This section contains 1,396 words (approx. 5 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample