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This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Why did the sense of Mexicanism "float" in the air of Los Angeles?
(a) People struggled to retain Mexican identity in a foreign land.
(b) No one truly knew that it meant to be Mexican.
(c) It did not mix with the North American efficiency or precision.
(d) It was an ethereal sense of nationality.

2. What do a pachuco's actions and lifestyle demonstrate?
(a) His dissatisfaction with North American culture.
(b) His desire to return to Mexico.
(c) His will to remain different.
(d) His anger at a culture that will not assimilate him.

3. Paz says that during critical moments in a nation's development, the people ask themselves a critical question. What is that question?
(a) Who should lead us?
(b) How do we want the future to look?
(c) Who are we and how can we fulfill this obligation?
(d) How can we move forward?

4. What mentality does Paz attribute to the Mexican?
(a) Victim.
(b) Master.
(c) Leader.
(d) Servant.

5. Why is death a part of the fiesta (Chapter Three)?
(a) Because Mexico celebrates all aspects of life, even the end.
(b) Because exuberant death is honorable.
(c) Because people often get drunk and violent.
(d) Because the Mexican seeks to escape from himself.

6. During the fiesta of Grito, why do the people shout for one hour, in Paz's interpretation?
(a) So they can be silent the rest of the year.
(b) So the name of Grito cannot be heard.
(c) To express their rage.
(d) To express great joy.

7. In Paz's thought, what does a study of the great myths reveal?
(a) Man will continually become better than he is now.
(b) Man will never truly be saved.
(c) Man has broken the order of the universe.
(d) Man can only be saved by something other than himself.

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

9. Why do Mexicans tell lies (Chapter Two)?
(a) Merely for the enjoyment of it.
(b) To create confusion.
(c) To hide themselves.
(d) To protect the other person.

10. What does the pachuco represent in Paz's writing?
(a) One step along the path that a Mexican can take.
(b) The typical Mexican living in North American culture.
(c) One extreme at which the Mexican can arrive.
(d) The modern-day religious saint.

11. Aside from being an excess, what does the fiesta revolt against?
(a) Form.
(b) Life.
(c) Death.
(d) Sadness.

12. How do Mexicans perceive an opening-up of one's self?
(a) As infidelity to the human spirit.
(b) As a moment of truth.
(c) As a betrayal or weakness.
(d) As a sign of strength.

13. What role does the Mexican man play in society?
(a) He wants to raise Mexico to a place of prominence in the world.
(b) He protects everything entrusted to him.
(c) He seeks to expand his control in the world.
(d) He defends everything that he has.

14. What is Paz's opinion about the physical features distinguishing Mexicans from North Americans?
(a) People are too distracted by them.
(b) They are more important than commonly believed.
(c) People do not understand their significance.
(d) They are not as important as commonly believed.

15. In Paz's estimation, woman is a living representation of which of the following?
(a) Life.
(b) Man's incomplete nature.
(c) Life overpowered by death.
(d) The strangeness of the world.

Short Answer Questions

1. Why are woman considered inferior people?

2. What masculine trait enters into the idea of feminine modesty?

3. How are the evil words a sign and seal?

4. In Paz's estimation, what vital word has the Mexican forgotten?

5. In Paz's opinion, when is a person most likely to see himself as precious and unique?

(see the answer keys)

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