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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 was Rodriguez like as a student?

2. Where do Rodriguez's parents speak Spanish and where do they speak English?

3. What is Rodriguez taught about marrying someone of a different religion?

4. How does Rodriguez's education affect his relationship with his parents?

5. How does the family's use of the word "gringo" change as the children learn more English?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. What does Rodriguez identify as the symbol of how these two versions of Catholicism intersect in his life?

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

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

5. What conflicting messages does Rodriguez's father give him about getting an education?

6. Is Rodriguez prepared for his first day of school? Why or why not?

7. 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?

8. How does Rodriguez respond when people ask him how he was successful in school? Is his answer completely honest? Why or why not?

9. Does Rodriguez's family have the same level of education he does?

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Rodriguez describes a period in his life when he has very low self-esteem.

Part One: Why does he have low self-esteem? What parts of himself does he feel badly about?

Part Two: What happens in his life that makes him feel worse about those things?

Part Three: What happens in his life that makes him feel better about those things? Where does he go or who does he talk to?

Part Four: In your opinion, how much of Rodriguez's low self-esteem is just typical adolescent worrying about self-image? How much of it is a result of his specific situation and the people around him?

Essay Topic 2

Rodriguez's attitude about complexion was affected by the "Black is Beautiful" movement. This movement preached that people should accept themselves for who they are rather than trying to match a specific idealized image. At that time, the idealized image was inevitably the image of a white person, which made it difficult for non-whites to see themselves as beautiful.

Part One: What was Rodriguez's attitude about his complexion as a child? What did the people around him say about his complexion?

Part Two: Besides the "Black is Beautiful" movement, what other things changed Rodriguez's attitude about his complexion? How did his attitude change? What do the people around him say about his skin color now that he is an adult?

Essay Topic 3

Rodriguez spends a lot of time analyzing his education and how it affected him.

Part One: What lessons can a minority student draw from his story? What lessons can any student draw from his story?

Part Two: What lessons can the parent of a minority student draw from his story? What lessons can the parent of any student draw from his story?

Part Three: What lessons can the teachers of minority students draw from his story? What lessons can any teacher draw from his story?

Based on that, to what group(s) of people would you recommend this book? Why?

(see the answer keys)

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