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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. Where does Chucha sleep?
2. Why is school not opening on time?
3. When does Anita use a pencil?
4. What does Anita not want her family to discover?
5. What does Anita's mother want her to do with her diary?
Short Essay Questions
1. How does Anita's mother talk to her for the first time?
2. What does Papi explain to Anita about Carla when Anita gets home?
3. What do Anita and Chucha see at Toni's house and what does Chucha tell Anita?
4. Why does Anita use a pencil in her journal?
5. How does Anita begin to see their leader in a different light?
6. How does Mami feel about the Washburns living next door and what does she do because of that?
7. Where is Anita at the opening of the story, and what is she doing?
8. Why do parents not like their daughters to go out in public places?
9. What does Mami ask Anita not to do?
10. What does Anita realize about Sam as she writes in her diary?
Essay Topics
Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:
Essay Topic 1
Discuss the following:
1. What is a plot? What are the most important elements of a plot? Define any elements that you list. Do all novels have a plot? Why or why not?
2. Write a brief synopsis of the plot of "Before We Were Free," identifying where the various elements of the plot occur (exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, resolution or denouement). Do you find it difficult to identify the plot or the various elements? Why or why not?
3. Identify the major sub-plots in "Before We Were Free," identifying their various elements. (The subplots may not contain every element of a major plot). Do the sub-plots add to the main plot? Why or why not. Are the sub-plots interesting in and of themselves? Why or why not?
Essay Topic 2
There are a number of interesting questions raised by "Before We Were Free."
1. What does the term "author agenda" mean?
2. Name one idea or concept you think may have been a part of the Alvarez's agenda. Analyze that idea as it appears throughout the book and discuss Alvarez's probable agenda concerning that idea.
3. Do you think writers who have an agenda for writing should point it out in a preface?
4. How often do you think fiction is written with a clear agenda in mind by the author?
5. Research the life of Julia Alvarez to see if her life may have influenced her writing and, if so, where and how?
Essay Topic 3
Characters are an integral and important part of almost all novels. Discuss the following:
1. Compare and contrast the characters of Anita and Lucinda. How are they similar? How are they different? Is there a flaw in each of their personalities? Be specific and give examples.
2. Compare and contrast the characters of Sam and Oscar. How do they seem different? Which do you like more? Why? Which one seems more of a well-rounded person?
3. Thoroughly analyze how three of the secondary characters in "Before We Were Free" help drive the plot and what their contribution is to the storyline. Are any of the secondary characters unnecessary? Indispensable? Which of the secondary characters are likable? Which are either unlikable or even despicable? Be specific and give examples.
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This section contains 983 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) |
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