View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. How does Candelaria return home?

2. The Grandmother is perpetually hungry for _______________.

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

4. Who owns the house in Acapulco?

5. In what city did the narrator's father and uncles work?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does the Grandmother advise Inocencio about his hysterical wife?

2. Why is the girl, Candelaria, pressed into service for the Grandmother?

3. Describe Celaya's house and its furnishings.

4. How many children are in Celaya's family and what distinction does she have?

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

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

7. Why is Candelaria removed from the Reyes home?

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

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

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

The theme of struggling with personal identity is an important one in this novel. Describe how it extends through setting, character and issues and provide examples for each.

Essay Topic 2

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.

Essay Topic 3

Explain Cisneros' use of regionalism in the book. Cite examples of at least two different instances of regionalism and explain why the author used them where she did.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,053 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample