Elegy on the Death of Cesar Chavez

What is most likely the reason for the author chose to commemorate César Chavez?

• A. He was a close personal friend of the poet’s and this is his way of expressing a very private grief.

• B. The poem is translated from Spanish.

• C. The late César Chavez was a figure of monumental importance to many people.

• D. The poet is addressing the poem to his beloved whom he hopes to marry.

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What kind of tone does the poet most likely employ in this elegy?

• A. Vengeful

• B. Confused

• C. Admiration

• D. Disgusted

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What can the reader infer from the following passage?

O, fateful day, April 23, 1993, when our morning

Star did not rise and we knew that in his sleep

César had awakened to a greater dream.

And we, left lost on this dark, dry Earth,

Cursed the day la muerte came to claim

The light within his noble body.

• A. César was born on April 23, 1993.

• B. There was a fateful eclipse.

• C. Chavez died in April, causing many to mourn his passing.

• D. The author was lost in the dry, dark desert.

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What is the central idea of the passage below?

Now he lies dead, and storms still rage around us.

The dispossessed walk hopeless streets,

Campesinos gather by roadside ditches to sleep,

Shrouded by pesticides, unsure of tomorrow,

Hounded by propositions that keep their children

Uneducated in a land grown fat with greed.

• A. The government denied benefits, including education, to illegal immigrants.

• B. Homelessness is still a problem in America.

• C. The work Chavez did when he was alive is still unfinished.

• D. The weather the week of Chavez’s death was stormy.

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Which line from the poem best supports the correct answer to question 5?

• A. Now he lies dead, and storms still rage around us.

• B. The dispossessed walk hopeless streets.

• C. Campesinos gather by roadside ditches to sleep,

• D. Shrouded by pesticides, unsure of tomorrow,

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Which of these inferences is best supported by the following passage?

Our César has not died!

He is the light of the new day.

He is the rain that renews parched fields.

He is the hope that builds the House of Justice.

He is with us! Here! Today!

Listen to his voice in the wind.

He is the spirit of Hope,

A movement building to sweep away oppression!

His spirit guides us in the struggle.

Let us join his spirit to ours!

Sing with me. Sing all over this land!

• A. Chavez is not actually dead but in hiding.

• B. The poet hopes the memory of Chavez will inspire those who survive him to struggle on.

• C. The poet is being ironic and never was a supporter of Chavez.

• D. Chavez has changed his form into rain clouds to water the earth.

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Which line from the poem best supports the correct answer to question 7?

• A. Our César has not died!

• B. Listen to his voice in the wind.

• C. His spirit guides us in the struggle.

• D. Sing with me. Sing all over this land!

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What meaning of the word fallow most closely matches the meaning in the following excerpt?

And we have wept for him until our eyes are dry.

Dry as the fields of California that

He loved so well and now lie fallow.

Dry as the orchards of Yakima, where dark buds

Hang on trees and do not blossom.

Dry as el Valle de Tejas where people cross

Their Foreheads and pray for rain.

• A. Unplanted, empty

• B. Not pregnant

• C. Flooded

• D. Ready for harvest

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The poem is written in the __________ tense, from a __________ point of view.

• A. First person, present tense.

• B. Second person, past tense.

• C. Third person, present tense.

• D. First person, past tense.

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