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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 NOT a reason that the administration at Manny's school gave for being unable to transfer him to Hawthorn School?

2. What was the most serious consequence levied upon Lencho for losing the fight against Boise?

3. What did the Berets believe was the one purpose of white people?

4. Why did Nardo have a hard time climbing inside his bedroom window when he was trying to sneak back inside the house?

5. What did Manny use to keep Pedi occupied while he was watching her during Magda's date with her secret boyfriend?

Short Essay Questions

1. 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?

2. How did Manny feel about his physical appearance when he compared it with Nardo's?

3. Why was it so important to Miguel that Lencho win the boxing match against Boise?

4. What made Chico want to back out of his scheduled boxing match at the last minute?

5. Manny relates that his maternal grandfather died a few years back. What was his grandfather's health like before he died?

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

7. Why did Nardo have a particularly difficult time in the first few hours of hard work he and Manny did in their grandmother's yard?

8. Why is it ironic for Lencho to be kicked out of the Berets after losing his boxing match to Boise?

9. When Grandma Rosa emerged from the house while Manny and Nardo were working in her hard, what memories did she tell the boys about?

10. What did Manuel do after he got out of bed and realized what had happened to Magda?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What do housework, cleaning, and chores symbolize within the novel? Support your claim with concrete details from the narrative.

Essay Topic 2

Analyze the interplay between the climax of the novel and the resolution of the novel. How does the author employ them and how does their juxtaposition help him get across the main message of the novel? Use quotes from the narrative to prove your claim.

Essay Topic 3

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.

(see the answer keys)

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