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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 "Tank You Señora for Cure Me," what does Rosario say he is looking for?

2. In "It Was the Brightness of the Light," how does China Iron end up getting married?

3. What is the meaning of China Iron's dog's name?

4. In "We Branded Each and Every Animal," which indigenous group are China Iron and the others traveling towards?

5. In "Everything Covered Me like a Second Skin," how does the narrator indicate time passing rapidly?

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe China Iron's life before she leaves on her journey with Liz.

2. In "An Orphan's Fate," how does Rosario come to live as a gaucho on an estancia?

3. What metaphor does China Iron use to describe the Colonel's vomit in In "Colors Become Detached from Their Objects," and what is its significance?

4. Of all of the creatures that Liz draws for China Iron, which one most captures her imagination, and why?

5. In "Tank You Señora for Cure Me," what similarity does China Iron see between Rosario, his lamb, and the other animals he adopts?

6. How does China Iron get her name, and where do its parts come from?

7. In "Tangled Legs," why does China Iron compare the ditch to a branding iron?

8. In "Colors Become Detached from Their Objects," what is the significance of China Iron's comparison of Liz to a mare and a puma?

9. In "Suspended in the Air," what is the rhetorical purpose of the extended discussion of vizcachas?

10. In "The Wagon," what does China Iron discover about the dust and Liz's feelings about it?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write an essay in which you consider the significance of Hernández's plagiarism. What claims is the text making about stories and imperialism? Be sure to offer textual support for your ideas.

Essay Topic 2

Write an essay in which you make a claim about the symbolic significance of Hernández's estancia. Consider not only the characteristics of the estancia and the events that transpire there but also the fact that it is owned by Hernández. Be sure to support your ideas with evidence from the text.

Essay Topic 3

Write an essay in which you examine the thematic purpose of the division of the novel into three parts. Consider the focus of each part and the relationship of these parts to the messages the novel conveys about Argentina: its peoples, its history, and its possible future.

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