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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 Yunior call his mother?

2. Who kicks the two boys off the bus?

3. What was the name of the neighbor Yunior used to play with?

4. Where is Beto leaving for at the end of the summer?

5. What is a sucia?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Mami react when Papi does not come?

2. Why is Papi upset with the narrator?

3. How is school difficult for the narrator?

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

5. How did Ysrael disfigure his face?

6. How does the aunt help out the narrator?

7. What is chapter four about?

8. How were the narrator and his friend Beto out of control?

9. What homosexual experiences has Yunior had?

10. How does Rafa treat his brother in the city?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Identify the main themes of the stories. In what way are these themes relevant to the time period and setting? How does Diaz use character and setting to express his themes?

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

Discuss Diaz's life. In what way is his life and personality reflected in the book?In what ways is he like or unlike the main character?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 532 words (approx. 2 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample