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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 Celaya's father tell the Awful Grandmother that he wants to buy for Celaya?

2. What is the Grandfather's name?

3. What is the narrator's father known as in the family?

4. What is Narciso's last name?

5. What shape is the house the family stays in in Acapulco?

Short Essay Questions

1. To what location did Celaya's family travel each year and why did they travel as a family?

2. Where does Inocencio take the family for a holiday, and who complicates the situation by inviting herself to go along?

3. What are the circumstances that have Soledad moving into the Reyes household with Narciso's family?

4. Who is Antonieta Araceli and how do the cousins upset her?

5. How was Senora Regina both kind and cruel to Soledad?

6. Why does the family rely on little white lies?

7. What does the family do when they arrive in Acapulco?

8. Describe the Awful Grandmother's life after her mother died.

9. What kindness does the Grandfather show Celaya when the Grandmother ridicules her for not eating the mole?

10. How did Soledad find the man she would marry?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Explain the significance of the book's title--CARAMELO. Why did Cisneros choose this title? Is there an understood message in the title? Is there another title you can suggest that might be more appropriate?

Essay Topic 2

Describe the overall ethnic culture for the book. What influences does ethnicity have on Cisneros' novel? What is the time period of the story? How important is the time period to the attitudes and issues reflected in the work?

Essay Topic 3

The author is a master at dramatic devices. Choose an example of symbolism, metaphor, and irony, then briefly describe them and identify the technique which they embody.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,185 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample