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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 does Eddie ask his mother and aunt to do as he leaves his apartment in Chapter 3?

2. At what institution did Gary Soto earn his M.F.A. in poetry?

3. What is the playground in the barrio where kids play, and where gangsters recruit new members?

4. What is stolen while Eddie stops by his apartment before returning to his job for Mr. Stiles in Chapter 2?

5. Eddie believes that the students at the local college who are studying to be what are the lucky ones in Chapter 1?

Short Essay Questions

1. Where does Eddie work in Chapter 1? How is this neighborhood described?

2. Who visits Eddie after he leaves Mr. Stiles’s house in Chapter 3?

3. How is Eddie’s neighborhood described in Chapter 1?

4. Who does Eddie believe will have brighter futures as described in Chapter 1? Why?

5. What does Eddie take to Mr. Stiles’s home in Chapter 3?

6. What does Eddie discover at the dump in Chapter 2?

7. Who is the protagonist of the book? How is his objective defined in Chapter 1?

8. What does Eddie’s job entail generally? Who greets him when he arrives home from work in Chapter 1?

9. What leads to Mr. Stiles’s truck being stolen in Chapter 2?

10. What leads to Eddie’s encounter with the police in Chapter 3?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Describe and analyze the character of Angel in the narrative. How long have Eddie and Angel known one another? What are Angel’s objectives with Eddie? Why does Angel not choose to avenge his friend’s death on his own?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the character of Aunt Delores in the novel. How close is Eddie to his aunt? Where does Delores live? What objective does Delores have in bringing Eddie tortillas? Do you think this makes her a likable character? Why or why not?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss Eddie’s godmother in the narrative. What does the incident with Queenie reveal about Eddie's true nature? How does Eddie’s relationship with his godmother differ from his relationship with his mother or Aunt Delores?

(see the answer keys)

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