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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 did Manny's mother do upon hearing him curse?

2. Though Manny's mother wanted him to attend a better high school, his father disagreed. What did he want Manny to do instead?

3. Manny told Manuel that if he shot Rebecca, he would be thrown in jail. Manny asked Manuel to think of what would happen to Manuel's children then. Manuel replies that he only cares about one family member. Who is it?

4. What reasons did Manny give for he and Nardo being slow at picking chili peppers?

5. What meaning did Manuel ascribe to the note that Rebecca had left him about going to get her hair done at Sophie's?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why did Manny travel to his school even though it is still summer?

2. What was the lost job that Nardo missed the most and why?

3. What kind of relationship did Manny's father and mother have?

4. Why did Mr. Hart take a roundabout way when he took Manny home?

5. What emotions did Nardo display while he watched the Mexican man pick peppers in the row next to his?

6. What parallel did Manny draw between his grandfather Ignacio's personality and his own personality?

7. What effect does the simile have on the reader when Manny saw a van coming toward the fields and described it as "approaching like a dog sneaking up on a bush" (13)?

8. What caused Rebecca to think that Manuel was somewhere in the pool hall even though Rico told her that Manuel had gone home?

9. How does the theme of "otherness" emerge within the aftermath of the Immigration officers' removal of the illegal immigrants from the field?

10. How does the theme of domestic violence arise sharply within the scene when Manuel returns from his two-day drinking binge?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

How is the topic of materialism treated within the novel? Create a claim stating the author’s message regarding materialism and wealth. Prove your claim with concrete details from the novel.

Essay Topic 2

Examine the topic of work within the novel. Look at Manny's description of inheriting his grandfather Ignacio's "useful blood" (6) and the contrasting attitudes toward work displayed by Nardo and Manuel. Look also at other discussions of work and ambition in the novel, such as Manny's pronouncement of Albert's risky decision to join the boxing team since he was academically inclined, and pull concrete details from those examples to support your claims.

Essay Topic 3

Analyze the African-American newspaper man's decision not to tell the police that Manny was an accomplice in Eddie's robbery of the woman outside the bank. Why does he make that decision and how do you know? In terms of traditional Western morality, what his decision just? Back up your points with quotes from the robbery scene.

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