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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. When he is a child, what do people say about Rodriguez's complexion?

2. How does Rodriguez say that the white students react to affirmative action?

3. What does Rodriguez's editor say about his idea for a book?

4. How do Rodriguez's friends affect his religious practices?

5. What has happened to Rodriguez's classmate who applied for the same type of teaching jobs?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. How does Rodriguez describe his mother's interaction with the public world? Give specific examples.

3. What conversation does Rodriguez have with a colleague about teaching positions? What decision does Rodriguez make as a result of that conversation?

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

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

6. What does Rodriguez learn from working with the construction workers? Give two specific examples.

7. How does Rodriguez handle applying for teaching positions?

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

9. 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?

10. How does Rodriguez overcome his attitudes about dark skin? Give two specific examples.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Rodriguez focuses heavily on sound, particularly the sound of English versus the sound of Spanish.

Part One: How does he describe the sound of each language? Do his descriptions change as he learns more English? If so, how?

Part Two: How does he describe the sound of specific characters speaking in each language (for example, his mother speaking English versus his mother speaking Spanish)? What does that description tell you about the character? about the language?

Part Three: Rodriguez includes Spanish words throughout the text. When does he use Spanish words? Why does he use those instead of just translating them into English?

Essay Topic 2

Rodriguez identifies with a student description in a textbook, the "scholarship boy." He feels that is a good representation of how he was as a student.

Part One: Describe the scholarship boy. Identify how that type of student is seen by the teacher, by fellow classmates, and how he sees himself. Identify why Rodriguez related to that description, and use specific examples to support your answer.

Part Two: Write a brief description of the kind of student you are. Identify how that type of student is seen by the teacher, by fellow classmates, and how he/she sees himself/herself. Compare and contrast your description with that of the scholarship boy.

Essay Topic 3

Rodriguez clearly sees books as something powerful and potentially dangerous. Early on in the book, Rodriguez describes himself as being afraid to learn to read because he was aware of the power of books. Later, he describes his mother asking him what was in all those books and why he needed to read all of them. At the end of the book, he describes his nephew, who is reading, as someone who may cause trouble.

Part One: What has happened in his life to lead him to that conclusion? Give specific examples.

Part Two: Do you think other people in the book would agree with his conclusion? Why or why not? Give specific examples.

(see the answer keys)

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