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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. As he gets older, what do people tell Rodriguez about his complexion?
(a) They tell him to see a doctor to get help.
(b) They are envious of his "tan."
(c) They joke with him about how light his skin is.
(d) They tease him.

2. According to Rodriguez's family, what is wrong with Richard?
(a) He is more like a woman because he talks a lot and has soft hands.
(b) He needs to be more responsible.
(c) He needs to talk more when he is at home.
(d) He needs to work at hard labor.

3. What example does Rodriguez offer of how affirmative action can have negative consequences?
(a) His own experience as a minority who struggled in college.
(b) Students who were helped by affirmative action, but then did not help their fellow minorities.
(c) Students who flunked out of college.
(d) Students he knew in graduate school who had never written a paper.

4. What happens to Rodriguez as a result of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr's assassination?
(a) He becomes involved in the Civil Rights Movement.
(b) He is scared to pursue more education.
(c) He loses his scholarship to a black student.
(d) He gets more scholarships and opportunities.

5. What is Rodriguez aware of when he visits his rich friends?
(a) His friends are fascinated by his skin color.
(b) There are dark-skinned servants, but he is a friend, not a servant.
(c) His friends talk about skin color differently than his family does.
(d) His friends treat him differently because of his skin color.

Short Answer Questions

1. Where does Rodriguez feel comfortable? Why?

2. How does Rodriguez describe the 1960s student?

3. What does Rodriguez finally decide about affirmative action?

4. In the last chapters of the book, what is Rodriguez keeping secret from his family?

5. How does Rodriguez change his religious practices?

Short Essay Questions

1. As a child, what does Rodriguez learn about dark skin?

2. As a teacher, how does Rodriguez interact with these other minority students? Why does he act that way?

3. How does Rodriguez use the label "minority student"? How does he feel about it? Give specific reasons why he feels that way.

4. What does Rodriguez's mother tell him about writing about their family? What does his editor tell him?

5. What does Rodriguez decide to do about a job?

6. How do people respond to Rodriguez's skin color when he is younger?

7. How does Rodriguez feel about white students' attitudes toward affirmative action?

8. Why does Rodriguez's mother call him "Mr. Secrets"? In spite of his secretive behavior, what does Rodriguez believe she knows?

9. What does Rodriguez think about the Civil Rights Movement?

10. How would Rodriguez change affirmative action? What examples does he offer to support his suggestion?

(see the answer keys)

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