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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 is Rodriguez aware of when he visits his rich friends?

2. What does Rodriguez think skin color says about financial status?

3. How does Rodriguez describe the 1970s student?

4. Why does Rodriguez's mother not understand his explanation about psychiatry?

5. According to Rodriguez's family, what is wrong with Richard?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Rodriguez use the label "minority student"? How does he feel about it? Give specific reasons why he feels that way.

2. What does Rodriguez think about the Civil Rights Movement?

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

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

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

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

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

8. What does Rodriguez think about the current system of affirmative action? Give two examples he uses to support his argument.

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

10. How do people respond to Rodriguez's skin color when he is younger?

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 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?

Essay Topic 3

Rodriguez tells his mother that there are some things it is easier to discuss with a stranger than with a family member.

Part One: What specific things do you think Rodriguez would rather discuss with a stranger than with his family members?

Part Two: Do you agree with his statement? Why or why not?

(see the answer keys)

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