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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 do Norma's eyes resemble?

2. Why does Esmeralda's mother call her Negi?

3. Which Puerto Rican food does the American food expert fail to recognize?

4. What natural phenomenon opens "Mami Gets a Job"?

5. Who points at objects as the children sing "Pollito, chicken; gallina, hen; etc?"

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe the house Esmeralda's family moves into at the beginning of Chapter 1: Jibara.

2. How does Abuela treat Esmeralda's injury?

3. How are the "experts" who speak on nutrition and hygiene received by the Puerto Rican women?

4. List the characteristics children use to label Esmeralda a jibara.

5. What is the purpose of the meeting the women and children attend in "The American Invasion of Macun"?

6. Describe the song at the opening of "The American Invasion of Macun".

7. What does the family do when the heavy rains come in "Someone is Coming to Take Your Lap"?

8. What is a jamona?

9. Why do Ramona and Pablo fight at the beginning of "Fighting Naked"?

10. How does Esmeralda react to the news that her father has a child with another woman?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

A recent phenomenon in immigrant cultures is the move toward forming a more transnational identity--a notion of self which lies at the intersection between two cultures instead of squarely in one or the other. In your opinion, does Esmeralda form a distinctly Puerto Rican identity, a distinctly U.S. American identity, a transnational identity, or perhaps all three at different points of her life? If she identifies with one over the others, how does she demonstrate affinity for this identity? If she does not, how does she demonstrate a fluid notion of nationality? Support your answer with evidence from the text.

Essay Topic 2

Analyze the presentation of gender and gender roles in the memoir. How does gender influence or determine behavior and social pressures? How are women treated differently from men? When does this difference in treatment arise in a girl's life? How does the perception of gender vary based on Esmeralda's location in the book (i.e. how is gender perceived differently in Macun, Santurce, and Brooklyn?) Support your answer with evidence from the text.

Essay Topic 3

Analyze Santiago's treatment of class throughout the book. What role does class play in Puerto Rican culture? In U.S. culture? How does the perception of class differ from place to place? How is Esmeralda's life affected by notions of class?

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