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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. For what reason does Lou return to his alma mater within the chapter entitled "The Student"?
(a) For a class reunion.
(b) To speak to Yo.
(c) To collect his diploma.
(d) To apply for a job.

2. In what manner does Jose describe Yo's body?
(a) Angular.
(b) Luscious.
(c) Pleasantly plump.
(d) Noodle-thin.

3. Which of Yo's family members loses an election in the Dominican Republic after Dexter's visit?
(a) Her cousin.
(b) Her uncle.
(c) Her father.
(d) Her grandfather.

4. Jose recalls that when he was young, the other boys in the village had called him what name?
(a) Pajaro.
(b) Negro.
(c) Campesino.
(d) Negra.

5. To whom does Penny introduce Lou at a party within the chapter entitled "The Student"?
(a) Her favorite professor.
(b) The English department chair.
(c) Her father.
(d) Her mother.

Short Answer Questions

1. What is the meaning of the Spanish word "tierra" (245)?

2. What item of clothing does Lou wish he had removed while he is sitting in the first meeting of Yo's class?

3. Whom does Dexter meet by the swimming pool at Yo's family's compound?

4. About what sport is the story that Lou hands in to Yo?

5. In what city is the chapter entitled "The Best Friend" set?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does the poem by Sappho symbolize?

2. In what way is the theme of rebirth demonstrated within the chapter entitled "The Landlady"?

3. In what way does Alvarez set up the United States and the Dominican Republic as foil settings?

4. What is the function of Dexter's character within the novel?

5. Name at least three narrators of the chapter entitled "The Wedding Guests."

6. With what elements of Yo's personality is Jose uncomfortable?

7. How does irony arise within Tammy's comments about Yo's lack of romantic interest in men?

8. Discuss Dexter's metaphor of the caged "bright bird" (204).

9. Name three different reasons Jose wants to give his next child to Yo.

10. How does Alvarez depict the effects of the cycle of abuse within the novel?

(see the answer keys)

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