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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 can Moraga not completely erase from her life?

2. What comes with admitting your sexual preferences?

3. When did Moraga begin to identify with oppressed groups?

4. Why Moraga's mother asked her to speak to her father about his presumed homosexuality?

5. What part of a woman's body does Moraga talk about in "For the Color of My Mother?"

Short Essay Questions

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

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

3. Why does Moraga's mother ask her to speak to Moraga's father in "My Sister, Who Must Be Protected"?

4. 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?

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

6. In "What Does it Take" what does the death of gay activist Harvey Milk prompt Moraga to wonder about the attention that men get?

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

8. What aspect of her life does Moraga discuss in the introduction?

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

10. To what does Moraga compare being a lesbian in "Loving in the War Years?"

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Create a character study of Moraga. What are her physical characteristics? What are her motivations? What are her fears? What are her dreams? What else can you say about Moraga?

Essay Topic 2

The book is written in 1983 during a period of growth and prosperity in America. Explain the significance of the political and cultural events of the time on Moraga and other oppressed people. How would Moraga's life have been different if she were coming out as a Hispanic lesbian today instead of the time she did? Explain.

Essay Topic 3

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?

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