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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 Grandfather's name?

2. Who is the daughter of the washerwoman?

3. What does Celaya's father tell the Awful Grandmother that he wants to buy for Celaya?

4. Who is the Awful Grandmother's washerwoman?

5. Who was the Awful Grandmother's father?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

CARAMELO is a classic story of a family's efforts to preserve the past and secure heritage through stories and customs. What does that classification entail? Why does Cisneros' work in this book fit into this category? Explain.

Essay Topic 2

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 3

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.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,038 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample