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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. Who is Soledad's daughter?

2. Who is the boy that Celaya runs away with?

3. Who attended Soledad when she delivered her baby?

4. Whose ghost does Celaya see when she visits her father?

5. What year of school does Celaya enter at her new school?

Short Essay Questions

1. What are the emotional reasons that Soledad hates Celaya?

2. What are the conditions under which Inocencio is able to buy the San Antonio house?

3. What are the Grandmother's real intentions regarding the house in San Antonio?

4. What advice did people give Soledad about taking care of herself as a young woman?

5. Describe the chaos of the Mexican Revolution.

6. What major purchase does Inocencio make without consulting Zoila and how does she react when she learns about it?

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

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

9. Describe the glittering growth in Mexico in 1910.

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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

Essay Topic 2

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 3

The author uses more than one iteration on the theme of family. Identify at least two themes about family in the book. Then cite an example to support each theme you name.

(see the answer keys)

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