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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. Before Aunt Lupe’s illness, she used to enjoy what activity?

2. Why will Esperanza come back to Mango Street?

3. What does Esperanza want?

4. What happens to Esperanza while she is waiting for Sally?

5. What does Sally do?

Short Essay Questions

1. How has Esperanza begun her “own quiet war”?

2. Why did Marin stay with him in the emergency room?

3. Why does Esperanza’s father call Sire a punk?

4. Why isn’t Rafaela allowed to leave her apartment?

5. Who is Ruthie?

6. Esperanza wants a nice house and wants to live on a hill, but she believes that she’ll be different than the others who do so. How does she believe that she will be different?

7. Why can’t Esperanza, her mother, and other neighbors and kids agree on what Earl’s “wife” looks like?

8. What is Sally’s relationship like with her parents?

9. What is Esperanza hoping to hear when she has her fortune told?

10. Esperanza has her fortune told, and Elenita tells her that she sees a “home in the heart”. What could this mean for Esperanza’s future?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What is the effect of the short first-person vignettes, rather than longer chapters? Why do you think Cisneros chose this form over something more traditional? What other forms could it be compared to?

Essay Topic 2

Esperanza wants to escape The House on Mango Street and all that that life included. Based on her drive, ambition and support, will Esperanza be able to leave Mango Street behind?

Essay Topic 3

Esperanza is dissatisfied with her life, or at least her living situation. Why is she dissatisfied? What does she want? And, will she or won’t she most likely succeed?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 645 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample