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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. What was the Explorer's secret?

2. The angel knows that the rope that was once in the well is now where?

3. On "Saturday," Chapter One, how does Rufina wake?

4. On Saturday, what does Rufina do when she sees the angel on the bench?

5. Rafa watches the shadows everyone casts and tries to do what?

Short Essay Questions

1. In "Saturday," Chapter Four, the husband and wife tourists have returned. About what do they argue?

2. In "Saturday," Chapter Two, on what do the siblings focus while they are performing in the town square?

3. What is the crowd’s reaction to Rafa’s shadow reading?

4. Who are the Sotos?

5. What did the Explorer do with Rosalinda and her children?

6. How does the Kid Thief act when spotted by Rafa and caught by Officer Armijo?

7. What does the narrator tell the reader about the flute deity?

8. How does "Saturday," Chapter Thirteen, end?

9. What does Rafa do, when Rufina is unable to perform on Saturday?

10. What is the experience of the couple that are on holiday on Saturday?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The narrator regularly goes back and gives the reader a view of the town and its people. Why might he or she do this? What is the importance of this return to the environment of the main characters? How does this affect the reader?

Essay Topic 2

The story begins with Rufina singing a melancholy song about a lost baby. Throughout the course of the book, what is learned about this lost baby? How does this loss affect Rufina? How does it affect the entire family? How does the entire situation surrounding this baby affect this family? How does this support themes of loss and resiliency?

Essay Topic 3

At the beginning of the book, Rufina and Rafa’s mother has recently died, and the two seem to have reverted back to childhood. How do these two deal with the loss of their mother in different ways? How is her loss significant to this story? How does this support the theme of loss?

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