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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. Does Rodriguez's mother blame him for what happened to their family?

2. In Complexion, Chapter 3, what new hobby does Rodriguez take up?

3. What is the Third World Student Movement?

4. As he gets older, what do people tell Rodriguez about his complexion?

5. According to Rodriguez, what do minority students need to succeed in college?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Rodriguez's mother tell him about writing about their family? What does his editor tell him?

2. As a teacher, how does Rodriguez interact with these other minority students? Why does he act that way?

3. As more minority students attend college, what does Rodriguez notice about their relationship to their culture? Give specific examples.

4. How does Rodriguez describe the change in the Catholic Church that happens as he grows up?

5. What are Rodriguez's parents' ideas about masculine and feminine characteristics? How does that affect Rodriguez?

6. What does Rodriguez think about the current system of affirmative action? Give two examples he uses to support his argument.

7. How do Rodriguez's ideas about religion change as he grows up? How does his practice of religion change?

8. What does Rodriguez learn from working with the construction workers? Give two specific examples.

9. What does Rodriguez think about the Civil Rights Movement?

10. What kind of social life does Rodriguez have? Does he have lots of friends and girlfriends?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Part One: What does Rodriguez argue about affirmative action? Explain his argument thoroughly and give specific examples that he uses to support his argument.

Part Two: Do you agree with his arguments? Why or why not? Provide your own examples to support your argument.

Essay Topic 2

Compare and contrast Rodriguez's parents, focusing on the following areas:

1) Their education

2) Their attitudes toward the "public" world

3) Their attitudes toward Richard and his education

If Rodriguez was going to try to talk to one of them about the loneliness and distance he feels from them, which one should he pick? Why?

Essay Topic 3

Rodriguez's attitude about complexion was affected by the "Black is Beautiful" movement. This movement preached that people should accept themselves for who they are rather than trying to match a specific idealized image. At that time, the idealized image was inevitably the image of a white person, which made it difficult for non-whites to see themselves as beautiful.

Part One: What was Rodriguez's attitude about his complexion as a child? What did the people around him say about his complexion?

Part Two: Besides the "Black is Beautiful" movement, what other things changed Rodriguez's attitude about his complexion? How did his attitude change? What do the people around him say about his skin color now that he is an adult?

(see the answer keys)

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