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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 the “Garcia Equation”?

2. What does Ana use to dig?

3. Who calls Wendell to their apartment?

4. What did Leona’s grandma lay on the graves of her physicians?

5. How did Wendell’s wife die?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does the chapter “Wendell” begin to show that words are not necessary to bring cultures together?

2. Why does Leona want to plant goldenrod?

3. Why do you think Ana attempts to correct her mistake?

4. How does Sam try to make people in the neighborhood friendlier?

5. What is the problem with water in the lot, and how does Sam deal with it?

6. What is the cultural problem Sam finds about the lot?

7. Why do you think Tio Juan becomes “childish” in the book?

8. Why do you think Kim wants to remain hidden when she plants?

9. Why do you think Wendell becomes attached to the bean plants, as Ana did?

10. Why does Leona decide she needs to do something about the lot?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Suspicion of others is a major theme in the novel, as there are many who are suspicious of their neighbors in this particular area. How does the garden help these individuals to lower their guard with one another? What is the garden able to do that merely living together does not do?

Essay Topic 2

Throughout the novel, the characters mention fighting a number of stereotypes. Choose three characters from the book, and explain how their lives have been impacted by the stereotypes either about them, held by others, or held by them about others. How do these stereotypes damage their relationships with others? What, if anything, changes them in the novel?

Essay Topic 3

Briefly go through each of the characters in the novel, and explain how the garden helped to improve their lives, circumstances, or outlook on life. Be sure to include details of each story to show an understanding of how the garden affected the characters.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 810 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample