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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 food had Francisco and Roberto requested that their mother Joaquina refrain from packing in their school lunches?

2. What kind of a bone did Joaquina often buy to serve as a base for the family's foraged vegetables?

3. Who drove when the family started out on their journey to take Francisco to college?

4. What was the mascot of the University of Santa Clara?

5. What part of Francisco's ROTC membership did he enjoy?

Short Essay Questions

1. For what length of time did the Jimenez family live in the United States after their first arrival there?

2. Which aspect of Jimenez's departure for college causes him unexpected pain?

3. What major event is taking place at the time of the memoir's opening?

4. Describe an instance when Jimenez uses a simile in order to underscore the nature of a particular emotion.

5. Which member of the Jimenez family is singled out as the person he will miss the most and why?

6. Describe the conflicted nature of Jimenez's feelings as the memoir opens.

7. For what reason does Jimenez allude to John Steinbeck within the opening chapters of Reaching Out?

8. How did Jimenez come to be an avid fan of Elvis Presley?

9. What unexpected benefit comes from Jimenez's donning of a green uniform for ROTC?

10. What good news did Jimenez receive shortly after the drunken weekend that caused him to feel deep shame?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

How is the theme of injustice portrayed within Reaching Out? Examine Jimenez's treatment of and messages regarding injustice throughout the work.

Essay Topic 2

Read a lengthy interview with Jimenez. Write an essay explaining the connection between several of Jimenez’s answers and a major theme presented within the text of Reaching Out.

Essay Topic 3

Discuss Jimenez’s use of the motif of sound within the nonfiction work Reaching Out.

(see the answer keys)

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