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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. Where does Rodriguez feel comfortable? Why?

2. What example does Rodriguez offer of how affirmative action can have negative consequences?

3. What does Rodriguez tell his mother about talking to strangers?

4. In Complexion, Chapter 2, what does Rodriguez do to try to change his skin color?

5. How does Rodriguez's sister feel about her children's complexions?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. What are Rodriguez's parents' ideas about masculine and feminine characteristics? How does that affect Rodriguez?

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

4. Now that he is older, how do people respond to Rodriguez's skin color?

5. How does Rodriguez explain psychiatry to his mother? Does she understand? Why or why not? How does that discussion connect to his book and what he is willing to tell her about the book?

6. How does Rodriguez handle applying for teaching positions?

7. Rodriguez looks at the students of the 1960s and 1970s from a teacher's perspective. What does he see as the difference between them?

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

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

10. How do Rodriguez's ideas about dark skin change as he grows up? Give specific examples.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Many books written by minority authors identify the discrimination, challenges, and disadvantages faced by people of that minority group or culture. Rodriguez does acknowledge some of those things, but for the most part, his story is remarkably positive about ethnicity. In some cases, he actually identifies his ethnicity as a benefit or an advantage.

Part One: Identify at least two places in the book where Rodriguez identifies some element of his ethnicity as an advantage rather than a disadvantage.

Part Two: As a reader, what do you think about his handling of the ethnicity issue? Is he making things sound better than they really are? Do you think other writers might make things sound worse than they really are?

Part Three: Which approach would you rather read? Do you think your opinion has anything to do with your ethnicity or your life experience?

Essay Topic 2

Rodriguez talks a lot about the difference between public and private language.

Part One: How does he define the difference between public and private language? Analyze what he is saying - don't just say that his public language is English and his private language is Spanish. What really defines the differences between the two types of language?

Part Two: Do people have to be bilingual to have a private language? Why or why not? Use examples from the book to support your argument.

Part Three: Are there times when two characters are speaking the same language but not really communicating or understanding each other? What does that say about private and public language?

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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