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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. When did Puerto Rico become a U.S. colony?

2. What does Mami's skin smell like when she picks up Esmeralda?

3. To what does Esmeralda compare Miss Jimenez's calves?

4. In "The American Invasion of Macun", what does the expert pull out of a suitcase?

5. What do the families hang from the rafters in "Mami Gets a Job"?

Short Essay Questions

1. Which feature does Abuela say Esmeralda shares with her father, and what does this feature supposedly indicate?

2. Explain why Esmeralda feels she has been punished for choosing to work with her father instead of listening to her mother.

3. How does Abuela treat Esmeralda's injury?

4. How are the "experts" who speak on nutrition and hygiene received by the Puerto Rican women?

5. Why does Esmeralda have to take the children to Dona Ana's house at the beginning of "Mami Gets a Job"?

6. Explain the concept of dignidad.

7. Why does Papi cry in "Fighting Naked"?

8. Explain how Esmeralda feels about the treatment of jibaros.

9. What is a jamona?

10. What does the family do when the heavy rains come in "Someone is Coming to Take Your Lap"?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss Santiago's depiction of Puerto Rican culture in the book. Does she present a single Puerto Rican culture, or perhaps many? How does Santiago treat this/these culture(s)? Does Santiago present a critique or celebration of traditional Puerto Rican culture?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the way in which geography, location, and space are treated in the memoir. Various topics you might explore include the way Esmeralda and other people experience travel, distances, or their physical surroundings. How fluidly does the family move from one location to another? What sense of space or place does the reader receive from this book?

Essay Topic 3

Analyze Santiago's treatment of class throughout the book. What role does class play in Puerto Rican culture? In U.S. culture? How does the perception of class differ from place to place? How is Esmeralda's life affected by notions of class?

(see the answer keys)

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