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This quiz consists of 5 multiple choice and 5 short answer questions through The Day of the Dead.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. According to Paz, what is death in modern thought?
(a) The end of all unworthy men.
(b) The avoidable end to a wasted life.
(c) The predictable end to a natural progression.
(d) The putting to rest of all sorrow.

2. Why did Catholicism drastically change the Aztec view of life?
(a) It saw life linearly rather than cyclically.
(b) It placed man's salvation outside himself.
(c) It emphasized man's humanity and personhood.
(d) It placed a merciful God in charge.

3. Chapter Three begins with the great effect that fiestas and public celebrations have. What is this effect?
(a) They stop the flow of time.
(b) They bring people together with unusual dynamics.
(c) They emphasize man's individuality.
(d) They increase man's sense of his mortality.

4. How does a man become "like the angels" (Chapter Three, page 61)?
(a) By opening fully to death, as well as to life.
(b) By valuing life to its final moment.
(c) By entrusting everything to God.
(d) By running from death to an embracement of life.

5. As Paz uderstands it, what is the Mexican's relation to death?
(a) Emotionally remote.
(b) Intimate but empty.
(c) Sacrificial.
(d) Intimate and heartbreaking.

Short Answer Questions

1. What is the difference between the Mexican killer and the modern one?

2. What is the Spanish view of women in contrast to the Mexican?

3. Why are a woman's instincts those of a species rather than her own?

4. In contrast to the North American, what is one of the most noticeable traits about the Mexican character?

5. In Paz's thought, what does a study of the great myths reveal?

(see the answer key)

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