Signs Preceding the End of the World

Multiple Choice and Long Answer questions create ideal opportunities for whole-text review, unit exam, or summative assessments.

Multiple Choice

1. Which of the following attributes of the messenger is Cora primarily concerned with to ensure safe delivery of her letter?

A) Nationality

B) Ethnicity

C) Age

D) Gender

2. Which of the following animals does Makina use in metaphors to compare Mr. Aitch to?

A) A reptile

B) A goat

C) A hummingbird

D) A dinosaur

3. Based on the languages that Makina speaks, what can be surmised about the types of calls that come to the village?

A) That they are mainly internal within the South

B) That most people have moved to a nearby village

C) That the number of people migrating to the North is increasing

D) That most people still prefer to speak in their local dialect

4. Which of the following words best describes Makina’s relationship with her boyfriend?

A) Deliberate

B) Coquettish

C) Heartfelt

D) Requited

5. Based on Makina’s interaction with the young man on the bus, which of the following statements is true?

A) She finds self-defense humiliating and difficult.

B) She is unperturbed in redefining stereotypical gender roles.

C) She enjoys the attention of men, even if they are unattractive.

D) She is apathetic to men’s advances.

6. Which of the following phrases describes what Makina ponders as she sees snow for the first time?

A) The fragility of life

B) The falseness of promises

C) The instability of the modern world

D) The journey ahead of her

7. Which of the following literary terms best represents the references to the different “bases” in Chapter 4?

A) Metaphor

B) Palindrome

C) Metonymy

D) Personification

8. According to Makina, what does the “intermediary tongue” reveal about the transformation of language in the North?

A) There is a new lexicon being formed.

B) There is an absence of the Latin language.

C) There is a domination of Anglo words amongst young people.

D) There is an annihilation of native languages.

9. Which of the following words best describes how Makina feels about the familial unit?

A) Skeptical

B) Ecstatic

C) Disgusted

D) Concerned

10. Which of the following emotions is the primary motivation for why Makina’s brother did not return home?

A) Fear

B) Sadness

C) Shame

D) Indifference

11. Which of the following literary terms does Makina use in the poem in Chapter 8?

A) Sarcasm

B) Humor

C) Irony

D) Palindromes

12. Which of the following phrases best describes the family’s belief that Makina’s brother will not survive the war?

A) The concern for the well-being of others

B) The dispensability of the lives of Southerners

C) The increased aptitude of Northerners in warfare

D) The dominance of the North as a world power

13. The novel opens with Makina narrowly avoiding a sinkhole in her village. Which of the following themes or symbols does this scene illustrate?

A) Translation and Communication

B) History as a Palimpsest

C) Violence and Racism in the Borderlands

D) The Switchboard and the Cell Phone

14. Which of the following words best describes Makina’s character through the majority of the novel?

A) Foolhardy

B) Auspicious

C) Dimwitted

D) Dogged

15. Which of the following sentences best describes the end of the novel?

A) A commentary on the inevitability of cultural change

B) A criticism on the “brain drain” of workers from Latin America to the West

C) An observation on the tension between North–South cultural relations

D) An elegy to the dying forms of translation and communication in traditional societies

Long Answer

Compose a response of 2-3 sentences, incorporating textual details to support your response.

1. Describe the protagonist of the novel. What is this person’s character like? Who is the antagonist, if any?

2. What is the setting of the novel? What contemporary location is implied from the setting?