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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 is the Awful Grandmother's name?

2. What is "feo, fuerte, y formal"?

3. To what does Celaya compare the color of the skin of Candelaria?

4. Mexico City is called the _______________ of the New World.

5. Whose birthday does the Grandmother make arrangements to celebrate?

Short Essay Questions

1. How is the Grandmother conflicted by what she wants for her family and what she is physically able to provide?

2. How does the Grandmother try to hurt Mother by telling her a secret?

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

4. Describe Celaya's house and its furnishings.

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

6. Who are Celaya's father and two uncles and what type of business do they have in Chicago?

7. Explain the nice lifestyle shared by Uncle Baby and Aunty Ninfa.

8. What are the two criteria to determine a person's class?

9. Describe Mother's hysterical fit in the car in Acapulco.

10. Why does Celaya's afternoon out with her mother turn into a family crisis?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Resentment seems to be an unnamed character in the book. How pervasive is resentment in the Reyes family? Explain how an inanimate object or characteristic can be a character.

Essay Topic 2

Create a character study of Celaya. What are her physical characteristics? What are her motivations? What are her fears? What are her dreams? What else can you say about Celaya?

Essay Topic 3

Explain the concept of loneliness as it exhibits in the book. Why would Hispanics have lonely lives in America? Explain the loneliness and the methods and attempts to overcome it.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,067 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample