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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 does Jay recall seeing down the cliffsides on his last visit to his grandparents' in "Go Back to Sleep"?

2. When did Spain cede the Philippines to the U.S.?

3. Who wrote the book Selections from the Prison Notebooks that Jay sees among Jun's possessions in "This Poem is a Typhoon"?

4. What sport does Jay recall playing with Jun in “Headfirst Across the Muddy Grass”?

5. To what museum do Jay and his uncle go second in “That Last Part Aloud”?

Short Essay Questions

1. How is Reyna's home described in “A Universe Where People Do Not Die for Doing the Right Thing"?

2. How did Jun come to live with Reyna?

3. Where do Jay's aunts take him in “To Flood"? How is this setting described?

4. How is Lolo and Lola's home described in “Bravery as if it Were my Own"?

5. What do Jay's aunts do to cheer him up in “Everyone Loses Their Shit"?

6. Why does Jay come to hope for the best in “A Complete Waste"?

7. Who does Maning regard as the greatest of Filipino leaders? Why is this significant?

8. What arrangements has Mia made in “Let’s Do It"?

9. Where did Jun go after his father kicked him out of his home? For how long did he stay there?

10. When was Reyna separated from her family? How and why did this happen?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss Jay's feelings of ambivalence about his future in the beginning of Patron Saints of Nothing. Where has Jay been accepted to college? Do you think he would have been more excited about attending if he had been accepted to the other schools where he applied? Why or why not?

Essay Topic 2

Describe and discuss the setting of Lolo and Lola's home. In what village do Lolo and Lola live? How does this landscape differ from the cityscapes that Jay has visited in Manila? What are Jay's observations about this setting?

Essay Topic 3

Analyze and discuss the character of Grace in Patron Saints of Nothing. What is Grace's relationship to Jay? How does their relationship evolve in the course of the narrative? What are Grace's objectives in the novel? Does she achieve those objectives?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 773 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample