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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 has Yunior had homosexual experiences with?

2. What does Rafa like telling his brother stories about?

3. What does Yunior imagine his father tracing on his cheek?

4. Where does the narrator's mother work?

5. What is the name of the boy's uncle?

Short Essay Questions

1. What happens to Rafa and the narrator on the bus?

2. In what condition is the narrator's girlfriend?

3. What happens at the corner?

4. Why is Mami afraid of living in her apartment?

5. How do the family react when Papi sends them a second letter saying he is coming home?

6. Why does Yunior call his mother shadow warrior?

7. How is school difficult for the narrator?

8. How does Rafa beat up Ysrael?

9. What happens to Papi when he drinks?

10. How did security catch Beto and Yunior shoplifting?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss how Yunior's upbringing has effected one of the following areas in his life.

1) Work.

2) Social life.

3) Intimate relationships.

4) Family.

Essay Topic 2

Discuss elements of the narrative structure of the stories; Exposition, conflict, complication, climax, resolution and conclusion. Do all the elements make for a logical and linear story? How does the story's structure express the book's themes?

Essay Topic 3

Examine Diaz's writing style. How would you describe Diaz's prose style? What kind of vocabulary does he use? What meaning does Diaz's style give to the story?

(see the answer keys)

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