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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 was inside the pinata that held the candies and chocolates that burst forth when Rebecca hit it as a child?

2. What was the main reason Lencho came over to talk to Manny during lunch on the first day he did so?

3. What question did Malcolm Augustus, Chico's opponent, know the answer to when no one else in Manny's biology class had known?

4. What did Nardo and Manny build out of bricks in Grandma Rosa's yard?

5. Why was Chico in the locker room when Manny brought in Albert with his bloody nose?

Short Essay Questions

1. When Manny dreamt of Grandma Rosa the night before her funeral, what happened within his dream and how did he react once he woke up?

2. Why was Manny so reluctant to let Nardo go into Grandma Rosa's house to fix them some Kool-Aid?

3. Though at first Rebecca claimed it was their lack of money that was keeping her from taking Magda back to the hospital after her fever kept rising, what did she finally admit was the real reason?

4. When the fight was not going well for Lencho and Miguel screamed at him to attack Boise, what reason did Manny give for wanting to scream at Miguel to shut his mouth?

5. How does the way in which the hospital receptionist treated the Hernandez family highlight the theme of same-race discrimination?

6. How did the various family members act differently from one another at the wake for Grandma Rosa that was held after the funeral?

7. How does Miss Van der Meer's classroom represent the theme of racial inequality?

8. How does Manny's act of nearly shooting his little sister Pedi play into the novel's theme regarding the power of choice?

9. When Magda came home and her family rushed her to the hospital, what symptoms was she exhibiting and to what prognosis did her symptoms point?

10. What is the author's purpose in letting the reader know that Malcolm, Chico's opponent, had been the only one in Biology class to know what volume of blood is produced when a girl has her period?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

How is the topic of materialism treated within the novel? Create a claim stating the author’s message regarding materialism and wealth. Prove your claim with concrete details from the novel.

Essay Topic 2

Analyze the African-American newspaper man's decision not to tell the police that Manny was an accomplice in Eddie's robbery of the woman outside the bank. Why does he make that decision and how do you know? In terms of traditional Western morality, what his decision just? Back up your points with quotes from the robbery scene.

Essay Topic 3

Analyze the author's message regarding romantic love in the novel. State a clear and specific claim regarding this topic and support your claim using concrete details from the novel.

(see the answer keys)

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