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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. Now that Rodriguez is an adult and done with school, what does his mother ask him to do?

2. Based on his conversation with his classmate, what does Rodriguez decide?

3. Is Rodriguez's classmate as good a student as Rodriguez is?

4. Now that he is a teacher, what does Rodriguez blame white students for?

5. How does Rodriguez describe the 1960s student?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Rodriguez feel about writing? How does he feel about writing about his family? How has he handled it in the past? How is he handling it now?

2. What does Rodriguez think about the current system of affirmative action? Give two examples he uses to support his argument.

3. How do people respond to Rodriguez's skin color when he is younger?

4. How would Rodriguez change affirmative action? What examples does he offer to support his suggestion?

5. How does Rodriguez feel about white students' attitudes toward affirmative action?

6. As a teacher, how does Rodriguez interact with these other minority students? Why does he act that way?

7. How do Rodriguez's ideas about religion change as he grows up? How does his practice of religion change?

8. How do Rodriguez's ideas about dark skin change as he grows up? Give specific examples.

9. What are Rodriguez's parents' ideas about masculine and feminine characteristics? How does that affect Rodriguez?

10. What does Rodriguez think about the Civil Rights Movement?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Rodriguez focuses heavily on sound, particularly the sound of English versus the sound of Spanish.

Part One: How does he describe the sound of each language? Do his descriptions change as he learns more English? If so, how?

Part Two: How does he describe the sound of specific characters speaking in each language (for example, his mother speaking English versus his mother speaking Spanish)? What does that description tell you about the character? about the language?

Part Three: Rodriguez includes Spanish words throughout the text. When does he use Spanish words? Why does he use those instead of just translating them into English?

Essay Topic 2

Rodriguez is told that men behave in one way and women behave in another way. He is embarrassed because based on those standards, he acts more like a woman than a man.

Part One: How does Rodriguez's family define male and female behavior? Why do you think they have those opinions?

Part Two: Do the characters in the book follow those guidelines for male and female behavior? What happens to characters who do not follow the guidelines? What happens to characters who do follow the guidelines? What is Rodriguez saying about gender roles?

Essay Topic 3

Part One: What does Rodriguez argue about affirmative action? Explain his argument thoroughly and give specific examples that he uses to support his argument.

Part Two: Do you agree with his arguments? Why or why not? Provide your own examples to support your argument.

(see the answer keys)

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