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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 does Esperanza have to lie about when she shows up on her first day at her new job?

2. Where does Louie’s cousin take them on their ride in the Cadillac?

3. What is the “little one’s” name?

4. What did Carlos sell to Gil?

5. What does Nenny want to buy, but Gil tells her it is not for sale?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why is Esperanza not afraid of the people in her neighborhood?

2. Why does Esperanza need to get a job?

3. Why is everyone surprised by Darius’s observations of the clouds?

4. What is Esperanza afraid of at the end of this vignette?

5. How does Louie’s cousin get the Cadillac?

6. What does Esperanza’s mean in the English translation?

7. Why does Esperanza’s mama get sick?

8. What happens in this vignette?

9. How does Esperanza feel when the nun is inquiring where she lives?

10. Who encourages her to get a job?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Compare and contrast Lucy and Rachel’s family situation with Nenny’s and Esperanza’s. Do they seem satisfied with where they are living and the neighborhood on Mango Street?

Essay Topic 2

Toward the end of the book, Esperanza says this: "I have begun my own quiet war. Simple. Sure. I am one who leaves the table like a man, without putting back the chair or picking up the plate" (Chapter 35, pg. 89). How is this quote indicative of who Esperanza is currently, and who she will become?

Essay Topic 3

Dramatic irony is when the reader understands that there is an ironic situation, but not the character. This occurs a lot when the narrator is young but the content observed by the narrator is mature. What are some examples of dramatic irony in The House on Mango Street?

(see the answer keys)

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