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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. In the American school, who was the Hoover girl?

2. What is tacked to the central post in the cantina where Yolanda stops?

3. What year did Yolanda meet Rudy?

4. What did Carla do to make the sneakers red?

5. As adults, what do the daughters still come home for?

Short Essay Questions

1. When do the daughters return home? Why is it important for the daughters to return without their husbands? What does this say about their father? The girls?

2. When Sandi falls and breaks her arm who carries her to safety? Why does Sandi cling to this person? What mixed emotions are played out in this scene?

3. How were the girls affected by their mother dressing them all alike, but in different colors? Why did they refer to it as "assembly-line" mentality?

4. Where have the uncles gone who do not appear anymore at family holidays? Are they dead? Are they in prison? Where do you think they are?

5. When Sandi shows artistic talent, the maid, Milagros, takes Sandi to her sick son and they both believe Sandi cures the boy. How does this tie into the image of Sandi's face as the Virgin Mary? For what art has Sandi suffered?

6. Why does Chucha not think it is a good idea for Carla to be back in the maid's room? What does this say about the relationships between the servants and the family?

7. When the girls are successful at removing Sofia from the island, what does this mean for Sofia and her future? Did the girls help their sister or hurt her?

8. Why did Carla want red sneakers? Why was the color so important?

9. It is clear from the moment the men in khakis walk up the driveway of the Garcia home that the Garcias have a plan in case of danger. What is their plan and how do they execute it?

10. What is Rudy trying to teach Yolanda with his sonnets? Why does he choose this approach?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

It seems the father is always fighting a battle, no matter where he lives. Who is the villain on the island and who becomes the villain once the family arrives in America? What demons must the father fight to protect his family and keep them safe? After the move, he is still fighting demons, just different ones. How does that affect the family?

Essay Topic 2

Compare life in the Dominican Republic and life in America for the girls. What changed when they moved to America? What was better? What was worse? How did their relationships with their cousins change? How did their parents change? Discuss daily life and school life as well as their change in social class.

Essay Topic 3

Once the family moves to America, what kind of life do the parents dream of for their daughters? With that in mind, why do they want to return the girls to the island every summer to find husbands? Doesn't that line of thinking contradict why they moved to the U.S. in the first place? What do the parents really want for their daughters?

(see the answer keys)

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