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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 Rosalinda hope the plates and bowls can do for her?

2. In Rufina's dream, the ancestral women push, pull, and beat on Rufina, as if she were what?

3. In "Friday," Chapter Five, the narrator flashes back to when?

4. As the narrator describes the day workers, of what does he or she take note?

5. In what town does this story take place?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Rafa describe the nightmarish bath he experienced once with his mother?

2. What is the difference between the relationships Rosalinda has with her two children?

3. Why is Rufina concerned that the angel has arrived in "Friday," Chapter Seven?

4. How are the Original Enduring Ones described?

5. How do both Rafa and Rufina feel about the presence of their dead mother, in the beginning of this book?

6. Describe Rufina's and Rafa's performance.

7. How do Rufina and Baby behave towards one another?

8. What does "Friday," Chapter Ten continue to reveal about Rufina and her desires?

9. What does the narrator say about listening to the earth, in "Friday," Chapter Nine?

10. What does the reader know about the Explorer, based on the "Friday" section of the book?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Rufina and Rafa have sensitivities to the world around them. To what is Rufina sensitive? To what is Rafa sensitive? How does this affect them? Do they benefit from these abilities? Why or why not? Would you want heightened senses? Why or why not?

Essay Topic 2

Rafa’s birth saves Rosalinda. How does this affect their relationship? How does their relationship keep Rafa from finding romantic love? What might be the correlation between this and the bath incident after Rosalinda’s abortion? How does her inappropriate behavior with her son mimic that of the relationship between the Explorer and Rufina?

Essay Topic 3

The mistreatment of Native Americans is an important part of this book. How is Rosalinda doubly mistreated? How is she affected by this? Regarding this prejudice, are you surprised by her interest and relationship with the Explorer? Why or why not?

(see the answer keys)

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