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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 the Grandmother want to do immediately after the death of the little Grandfather?

2. What does Soledad throw at Inocencio when they argue?

3. What do the doctors take from Narciso during surgery?

4. How did Zoila consider killing the Grandmother?

5. Who nurses Narciso when he returns home?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Inocencio attain his profession of upholsterer?

2. What secret about Inocencio does Zoila tell Celaya when Inocencio is in the hospital after a heart attack?

3. What illness befalls the Grandmother and how does the family react after her death?

4. Even though they both had behaved inappropriately, how did Narciso save Inocencio from a fate similar to his own?

5. What were the "Ten Tragic Days"?

6. Why does Celaya want to leave school and what is her father's response to her idea?

7. Describe Celaya's encounter with the Grandmother's ghost in Inocencio's hospital room.

8. How does Fina feel about her mother, Soledad, after her father dies?

9. Describe the glittering growth in Mexico in 1910.

10. What does Celaya learn about herself as a freshman, and who is the friend who takes her under her wing?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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

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

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 1,135 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample