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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 is Rodriguez told about reading the Bible?

2. What religion does Rodriguez's family practice?

3. What does Rodriguez call the English-speaking people his family interacts with?

4. What does Rodriguez say he gains because of learning to speak English?

5. In Aria, Chapter 3, why does Rodriguez's family tease him?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Rodriguez say about his experience of growing up Catholic?

2. How does Rodriguez feel as his education comes to an end?

3. How does Rodriguez describe himself as a student?

4. Why is Rodriguez writing this book? Identify two reasons.

5. Rodriguez finds a description in THE USES OF LITERACY that reminds him of himself. What is that description?

6. Is Rodriguez prepared for his first day of school? Why or why not?

7. How does Rodriguez respond when people ask him how he was successful in school? Is his answer completely honest? Why or why not?

8. What conflicting messages does Rodriguez's father give him about getting an education?

9. Why does Rodriguez say he spent so many years in the classroom?

10. Does Rodriguez's family have the same level of education he does?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Part One: Compare and contrast Rodriguez's childhood view of religion and his adult view of religion.

Part Two: Rodriguez acknowledges that the church itself changed some of its practices as he grew up. What effect did that have on his decision to stay Catholic? Did it encourage him to re-evaluate his religious beliefs and practices?

Essay Topic 2

Rodriguez describes a period in his life when he has very low self-esteem.

Part One: Why does he have low self-esteem? What parts of himself does he feel badly about?

Part Two: What happens in his life that makes him feel worse about those things?

Part Three: What happens in his life that makes him feel better about those things? Where does he go or who does he talk to?

Part Four: In your opinion, how much of Rodriguez's low self-esteem is just typical adolescent worrying about self-image? How much of it is a result of his specific situation and the people around him?

Essay Topic 3

Rodriguez spends a lot of time analyzing his education and how it affected him.

Part One: What lessons can a minority student draw from his story? What lessons can any student draw from his story?

Part Two: What lessons can the parent of a minority student draw from his story? What lessons can the parent of any student draw from his story?

Part Three: What lessons can the teachers of minority students draw from his story? What lessons can any teacher draw from his story?

Based on that, to what group(s) of people would you recommend this book? Why?

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