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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 did Moraga know about herself from a very young age?

2. When they are at a friend's house, Cecilia feels like __________________________.

3. What do men need to do in order for women to give up their hearts to them?

4. In "The Slow Dance" Moraga's mother explained ______________ in terms of dancing posture.

5. Moraga says that it is only ___________ who ever get any attention.

Short Essay Questions

1. What imagery of women does Moraga use in "For the Color of My Mother"?

2. What important lesson does Moraga learn about oppression and marginalization when it hits close to home?

3. To what does Moraga compare the sensation of falling in "The Voices of the Fallers?"

4. What pressure did Moraga's family put on her and what did she learn about docile obedience?

5. Why does a woman think about her knees in "The Pilgrimage?"

6. Why does Moraga say it is important for any activist to realize that oppression is not just exterior and how is the women's movement a subtle form of racism?

7. What is the dominant theme in this set of poems?

8. What does Moraga learn about her parents' relationship in "The Slow Dance"?

9. In "Winter of Oppression, 1982" Moraga recalls seeing horrifying images of the Holocaust but why is Moraga even more shocked to see pictures of black lynchings?

10. What role did the Catholic Church play in Moraga's acceptance of her lesbianism?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Explain the significance of the book's title "LOVING IN THE WAR YEARS." Why did Moraga choose this title? Is there an implied message in the title? Is there another title you can suggest that might be more appropriate?

Essay Topic 2

Describe the overall ethnic culture for the book. What influences does ethnicity have on Moraga's poems and essays? What is the time period of the poems and essays? How important is the time period to the attitudes and issues reflected in the work?

Essay Topic 3

Explain the taboo of homosexuality in the 1980s. Compare and contrast homosexuality in America during the 1980s to homosexuality in America today. What major changes have occurred since then, including both positive and negative?

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