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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 Rodriguez learn about sin?

2. In Aria, Chapter 3, why does Rodriguez's family tease him?

3. When Rodriguez hears about religious practices that are different from his own, what does he think of them?

4. How does Rodriguez feel about his parents' English skills?

5. As Rodriguez and his siblings learn more English, what happens to their family?

Short Essay Questions

1. Rodriguez is trained in Catholic ideas and rituals at a young age. What does this do to his understanding of other religious beliefs and practices?

2. Why is Rodriguez writing this book? Identify two reasons.

3. What does Rodriguez describe as the differences between Mexican Catholicism and English Catholicism? Identify two characteristics of each.

4. How does learning to speak English change Rodriguez's mother? His father?

5. Why does Rodriguez talk about how the rich people pronounce his name?

6. How does Rodriguez describe himself as a student?

7. How does the parents' desire for a good education end up hurting their family?

8. Beyond the simple accomplishment of learning another language, what importance does Rodriguez place on learning English?

9. Rodriguez finds a description in THE USES OF LITERACY that reminds him of himself. What is that description?

10. How does Rodriguez describe each language (Spanish and English) differently?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Part One: What does Rodriguez argue about affirmative action? Explain his argument thoroughly and give specific examples that he uses to support his argument.

Part Two: Do you agree with his arguments? Why or why not? Provide your own examples to support your argument.

Essay Topic 2

Every book has flat and round characters. A flat character is two-dimensional, someone who serves a purpose in the book but does not seem like a living, breathing person. A round character is one who is fully developed and seems like a real person. If you read a story about a boyfriend and girlfriend eating dinner at a restaurant, the boyfriend and girlfriend will be round characters. The people at the next table or the waiter who serves them their food are probably flat characters.

Part One: Besides Richard Rodriguez, which characters in this book are round? In other words, which ones have fully developed characteristics and identities? Which ones do you feel like you really know? How big a role do these characters play in the book?

Part Two: Which characters are flat or two-dimensional? Do not try to list all of them, but pick out at least four characters that serve an important purpose, but still do not get fully developed. For example, how well developed is the priest who comes to visit? Or the group of black teenagers on the bus?

Part Three: Think as the author for a moment. Why did Rodriguez choose to make some important characters flat? Why did Rodriguez choose to make other important characters round? What does that say about the character or Rodriguez's relationship with the character?

Essay Topic 3

Rodriguez claims that it is his education that made him successful. That is the reason he is writing this history of his education.

Part One: Find examples that prove his point. How is the person he is today a result of getting a good education?

Part Two: Find examples that disprove his point. What other advantages does he have (for example, where he lives, people he knows, personal characteristics) that could have led him to be successful even without a great education?

Part Three: Decide for yourself -- did Rodriguez's education make him successful? Explain your reasoning.

(see the answer keys)

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