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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. Who does Rodriguez say surrounds him now?

2. Does Rodriguez think his religious education had the effect it was supposed to?

3. What religion does Rodriguez's family practice?

4. What does Rodriguez wonder about his parents and his education?

5. How does Rodriguez's mother change as the family starts to speak English more?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Rodriguez view his parents' use of English?

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

3. How does Rodriguez describe himself as a student?

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

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

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

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

8. How does Rodriguez feel about bilingual education?

9. 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?

10. What does Rodriguez suggest education does to the scholarship boy? Why does he say that?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Rodriguez says that writing is difficult and writing about his family is very difficult. When he is younger, he makes up elaborate lies about his family. As an adult, he chooses to write this book about his family, which is intended to be a realistic portrayal of his relationship with them.

Part One: If writing is difficult and he does it anyway, what does that tell you about what he has to say?

Part Two: Why is writing about his family more difficult than other types of writing? Why did he lie about his family when he was younger? Is he telling the truth about them now? Why or why not?

Essay Topic 2

Rodriguez is told that men behave in one way and women behave in another way. He is embarrassed because based on those standards, he acts more like a woman than a man.

Part One: How does Rodriguez's family define male and female behavior? Why do you think they have those opinions?

Part Two: Do the characters in the book follow those guidelines for male and female behavior? What happens to characters who do not follow the guidelines? What happens to characters who do follow the guidelines? What is Rodriguez saying about gender roles?

Essay Topic 3

Part One: Compare and contrast the two religions - Mexican Catholicism and English-speaking Catholicism - that Rodriguez experiences as a child.

Part Two: Which one had a more profound effect on him as he grew up?

Part Three: Does his "New Catholicism" look more like Mexican Catholicism, English-speaking Catholicism, or an equal blend of the two?

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