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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. Why does the gang plan a trip to a "real beach?"

2. What is the gang's connection to the vacant lot?

3. Who puts old sofas in the vacant lot?

4. Why is the gang taken into custody after the fight at the beach?

5. Who works at a car wash when Luis's mother tell the boys to get jobs?

Short Essay Questions

1. What happens when the students at Luis's father's school can't understand his accent?

2. What happens to the person who took up the challenge to fight with the whites at the beach?

3. How does graffiti show a rift within the gang?

4. Explain how Yuk-Yuk and Luis differ on their feelings about stealing and killing.

5. How does Luis's saxophone cause a rift between him and Joe?

6. How does Luis describe his mother at the beginning of the book?

7. What was Luis's family's neighborhood and house like in Los Angeles?

8. What happens when Luis's father gets a better job?

9. How did Luis's family end up settling in Los Angeles?

10. Who are "Thee Impersonations"?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What is the community's response to the escalation of gang violence, and how does it help or hurt Luis?

Essay Topic 2

Describe how Luis's father's struggle to maintain a job causes the family to move to L.A. and how the job situation is once he gets there.

Essay Topic 3

It's interesting that Luis has never expressed his own level of commitment to the gang, but does say that he knows he can't say no when asked to participate in a particular raid or gang event. Compare and contract Luis's commitment to the gang with his commitment to his family.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 723 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample