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. What is the official name of the case regarding the journey that led the Yuma 14 to their deaths?

2. What country did the walkers leave during their border crossing?

3. Which direction did people in Veracruz wish to go, according to Urrea in Chapter 2?

4. What was carried by the apparition of a white woman who appeared before the warriors of the O'Odham in 1699?

5. From what is the term "tonks," used in reference to border crossers by Border Patrol agents, derived?

Short Essay Questions

1. To whom does the term "Coyotes" refer?

2. Who oversaw the human smuggling operation that led the Yuma 14 into the desert?

3. Who is Ken Smith?

4. According to Urrea, how did Operation Gatekeeper change border crossings?

5. What is Desolation?

6. How does the sign warning travelers in Sasabe describe the Coyotes?

7. From what state did most of the Yuma 14 come?

8. Who was Melchior Diaz?

9. Who were the Yuma 14?

10. Who joined Reymundo Barreda Maruri Sr. on his journey?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Religious imagery and rhetoric abound in The Devil's Highway. Analyze how Urrea uses these devices to shape the text's tone and themes. Provide evidence from the text and any outside research you may require to analyze the connotative or symbolic aspects of the author's word choice and the impact they have on the book's message and emotional content.

Essay Topic 2

High rates of immigration can bring demographic change, revealing ethnic tensions. Write an essay exploring Urrea's rhetoric regarding race and ethnicity, tracing the relationship between racial attitudes and immigration policy.

Essay Topic 3

The Devil's Highway is populated with an array of pseudonyms. Many of the people described are introduced as "John Doe" (32) and similar aliases. In some cases, aliases are all that we are ever given. Use evidence from the text, including direct statements of intent within the afterword, to interpret the significance of Urrea's decision to shroud the book's subjects in layers of anonymity and pseudonymity.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 560 words (approx. 2 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample