View a FREE sample

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

Short Answer Questions

1. What does the protagonist's friend say happens to most people who try to summon the devil in "A Silvery Night"?

2. From where does the mother pray her son will return safe and sound in "A Prayer"?

3. What does the protagonist take with him from home when he leaves in "A Silvery Night"?

4. What kind of car does the narrator describe Don Laito and Dona Bone as having in "Hand in His Pocket"?

5. When describing the first fight he ever had at school in "It's That It Hurts," the narrator says that they started pushing him toward whom?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why has the mother gone to see the fortune teller in "She Had Fallen Asleep Right Away..."?

2. How is the cemetery described in "It's That It Hurts"?

3. How does the narrator describe his treatment by Dona Bone and Don Laito when he first began staying with them in "Hand in His Pocket"?

4. Why does the unnamed character say he does not plan to go to Utah in "Comadre, Do You All Plan to Go to Utah?"

5. What does the narrator's father aspire for the narrator to be when he grows up in "It's That It Hurts"? Why?

6. What does the woman present as a trade in "A Prayer"?

7. What does the grandson say he wants most in life in "A Stroke Left the Grandfather Paralyzed..."? How does the grandfather respond?

8. What happens when the protagonist goes to the knoll in "A Silvery Night"?

9. How does the narrator describe his humiliation upon arriving at the new school in "It's That It Hurts"?

10. Who is Dona Cuquita and how is she described in "It's That It Hurts"?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss the different stories, outlooks, and thoughts that are revealed in "When We Arrive." How does the author differentiate between the different characters in this story? What are the concerns of the laborers and the truck driver in the narrative?

Essay Topic 2

Why is the father obsessed with boxing in "The Little Burnt Victims"? What symbolism is associated with this obsession in the story? What becomes of the Garcia family?

Essay Topic 3

Describe the characters of Don Laito and Dona Bone in "Hand in His Pocket." How are these characters perceived by the community? What observations does the narrator make about these characters? Would you consider these characters protagonists or antagonists? Why?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 870 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample