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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 Dolores Engracia Ramirez's nickname?

2. What happened to the Corporal's wife?

3. Dolores Ramirez can be best described as _____________________.

4. What rank does the sixteen-year-old boy have in the Mexican army?

5. What does the corporal tell his baby son every day?

Short Essay Questions

1. What happens when the paisanos sell the vacuum cleaner to Torrelli?

2. How is the story of the corporal both pathetic and noble?

3. How do the paisanos help Teresina when the bean crop fails and she cannot feed her eight children?

4. Why does the Pirate donate money to the church and what is the effect of this gesture on the other paisanos?

5. What does Pirate do with his dogs after he is moved by the stories of St. Francis in church?

6. Describe the sad life of Tall Bob Smoke.

7. What do the paisanos do to Joe after he steals the Pirate's bag of quarters?

8. Who is Gracie Montez?

9. What does the story about the vacuum cleaner show about Danny's personality? How does it impact Sweets' social standing create justified anger in Torrelli?

10. Who is Tia Ignacia and with which one of the paisanos does she have a romantic interlude?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Danny and the boys are forced to be very resourceful. Give some examples of behaviors exhibited by Danny and the boys that indicate that they know how to get what they need in spite of their obvious lack of typical resources. Would you say that Danny and the boys are creative? Or do they simply use people to avoid work? Do you think you could be friends with Danny and the boys? Why or why not?

Essay Topic 2

Describe the Pirate. What is his role in the story? What was the author trying to accomplish by creating the Pirate's character in the novel?

Essay Topic 3

Steinbeck uses beautifully descriptive language in the book to help his readers see his world from his perspective. Without referring to the book, describe Tortilla Flat. Now, describe Monterey, using only your recall of Steinbeck's descriptions. How do you visualize the California coast now that you have read Steinbeck's TORTILLA FLAT.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,152 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample