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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 location was Manny's father's favorite place in the world?

2. What object did Manuel use to signal Manny that he wanted him to go his room?

3. What did Manny say was the true reason Rebecca had gone to Sophie's to get her hair done?

4. Why did Manny decide to head back home after his altercation with the Garcia brothers was over?

5. What special talent did Nardo's grandmother claim that he had?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why was Manuel immediately furious when he saw Manny get out of Mr. Hart's car?

2. What kind of relationship did Manny's father and mother have?

3. Why did Manny travel to his school even though it is still summer?

4. How is the theme of racism demonstrated within the scene when Manny asks the secretary for his transcripts?

5. What is the significance of Manny's daydream about being on the baseball team and having people looking at him?

6. What did Nardo's grandmother mean when she said, "Es muy vivo" about Nardo?

7. What is significant about how Rebecca behaved during the scene in which the police came into the Hernandez's home?

8. What did Manuel do with the $20 he took from Manny's pocket?

9. How does the theme of domestic violence arise sharply within the scene when Manuel returns from his two-day drinking binge?

10. What was the lost job that Nardo missed the most and why?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Examine the topic of work within the novel. Look at Manny's description of inheriting his grandfather Ignacio's "useful blood" (6) and the contrasting attitudes toward work displayed by Nardo and Manuel. Look also at other discussions of work and ambition in the novel, such as Manny's pronouncement of Albert's risky decision to join the boxing team since he was academically inclined, and pull concrete details from those examples to support your claims.

Essay Topic 2

Victor Martinez cites one of his main literary influences as the poet William Carlos Williams, who is famous for his philosophy of literature that states, “There are no ideas but in things” (216). Discuss the meaning of this literary philosophy and explain how Parrot in the Oven displays its use. Use textual details to support your discussion.

Essay Topic 3

Compare and contrast Manny Hernandez, the protagonist of Parrot in the Oven: Mi Vida, to Holden, the protagonist of The Catcher in the Rye. Which of the the messages sent by Victor Martinez and J.D. Salinger are the same and how do those messages differ? Provide concrete details from both novels in order to support your claims.

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