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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 refers to an object, action, or idea that represents something other than itself, often of a more abstract nature?

2. What had Eddie returned to City College to do in Chapter 3?

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

4. What does Eddie leave at Mr. Stiles’s house along with a note in Chapter 3?

5. How old is Eddie’s mother in Chapter 3?

Short Essay Questions

1. Where do Eddie and José go to eat in Chapter 4? Who do they encounter there?

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

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

4. Why does Angel visit Eddie in Chapter 3? How does Eddie respond?

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

6. What does José represent symbolically to Eddie in the narrative?

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

8. Who has stolen the truck in Chapter 2? What is Eddie’s response to the situation?

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

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Describe and analyze the setting of Buried Onions. How is a barrio defined? In what year does the story take place? How does Eddie describe the city of Fresno? Where does Eddie work?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the theme of poverty in the novel and the symbolism that supports this theme in Chapter 4. How is José’s getting stabbed symbolic of the power of the barrio to hold one down in life? What are examples of symbolism in other chapters that support this theme?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss Eddie’s impressions of the information he learns from Norma about the murder in Chapter 4. Why does Eddie initially disbelieve the story? What makes him reconsider the possibility? How does this information change Eddie’s actions and objectives?

(see the answer keys)

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