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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 what New York City borough does the Garcia family live?

2. During the time Sarita's mother works for the Garcias before sending for Sarita, how many times is Sarita's mother able to visit her?

3. Who kicks over the box of ashes upon coming to visit Garfield?

4. In what type of setting does Sarita live with a family member in the Dominican Republic while her mother works for the Garcias?

5. For what purpose is the narrator driving downtown at the start of the Prologue?

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe the relationship between Yo and Garfield.

2. In what way do Sarita and her mother Primi reach the United States?

3. In what way does the narrator of the Prologue deceive one of her sisters within the narrative?

4. What impetus does the narrator of the Prologue point to as the reason for the change in her husband's personality?

5. What is the significance of the phrase "You are the one who knows" (125) throughout the text?

6. For what two reasons does Yo go to Miami?

7. In what way does the theme of appearance versus reality appear within the end of the chapter entitled "The Maid's Daughter"?

8. What event occurs in the Garcia household that causes Mami to start taking Valium and sleeping pills?

9. Describe the nature of the culture shock Sarita experiences upon arriving in New York.

10. What action does Mami threaten to take against Yo within the Prologue?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Sensory details are used frequently by the author in order to create vivid pictures of each character's progression through the narrative. Choose three scenes in which sensory details are heavily used and discuss how the sensory details used serve Alvarez’s purpose of creating vivid characters.

Essay Topic 2

Explicate the theme of family bonds within Julia Alvarez's novel Yo!. What is Alvarez's message regarding family bonds and how do you know?

Essay Topic 3

Look carefully at the passages of the novel that describe the close relationship between secrecy and control. What is Alvarez's purpose for discussing at length the nature of the connection between secrecy and control?

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