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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. Why have the boys not told Uncle Julio about the newspaper column?

2. Who is Ms. Vicky Moreno?

3. Why do the boys and Uncle Julio go up in an airplane?

4. Where are Freddie and Huey when they see someone steal the Buick?

5. What does Paul Kanzaki do to retouch Julio's photos of the farm?

Short Essay Questions

1. Who are Hector and Mando and why have they taken a train to Fresno, California?

2. What news report do Julio and the boys hear on the car radio and what is their connection to it?

3. What information is revealed about Hector and Mando in the column in The Fresno Bee?

4. What job does Uncle Julio take Hector and Mando along to see?

5. What does the author reveal about the unfortunate home lives of Hector, Mando and Julio?

6. How does Uncle Julio represent a father figure for Hector and Mando?

7. How does the Inouye household represent prosperity to the boys?

8. What does the Denny's restaurant signify to Hector and Mando regarding their loss of innocence?

9. Why does Vicky call to apologize to Hector and Mando and what does Julio offer to make her feel better?

10. Compare and contrast Freddie and Julio regarding their commitment and responsibility to the children in their lives.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Create a brief character study of Mando. What did he look like? What were his positive personality traits? What were his dreams and fears? What was most valuable to him in his world?

Essay Topic 2

Describe the overall setting for the story. Why does the author use the setting he does? What is the time period of the story? How important is the time period to the attitudes and issues of the characters?

Essay Topic 3

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

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,145 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample