House on Mango Street Day #3 Quiz

What is the significance of the quote below? Explain.

“You must keep writing. It will keep you free, and I said yes, but at that time I didn’t know what she meant.”

• Writing will keep Esperanza young. It will keep her soul pure.

• Nobody gets to tell Esperanza what to write, and therefore she is free when she writes. She can temporarily escape the confines of her world.

• In order to get out of jail, Esperanza must write letters to people.

• Aunt Lupe did not mean anything by this because her disease caused her to lose her mind.

How does the description of her aunt show Esperanza’s awareness of her aunt’s suffering?

• Esperanza becomes aware of her aunt's suffering because Aunt Lupe tells her about it.

• Esperanza doesn't realize her aunt is sick until after she passes away.

• Esperanza notices the physical changes in her aunt's body caused by her illness.

• Esperanza asks her father what is wrong with Aunt Lupe.

Which of the following is NOT an example of figurative language that is used to describe the physical damage Aunt Lupe's diseases causes?

• "Not bent and wrinkled like a baby"

• "Her legs bunched under the yellow sheets, the bones go limp as worms."

• "She had been dying such a long time, we forgot.”

• "My aunt, a little oyster, a little piece of meat in an open shell for us to look at."

What can the reader infer about Esperanza based on the following quotes?

"And then she died, my aunt who listens to my poems."

"We didn’t know. She had been dying such a long time, we forgot.”

"I don't know why we picked her, maybe we were bored that day."

• The reader can infer that Esperanza is feeling satisfied with the joke she and her friends played on Aunt Lupe.

• The reader can infer that Esperanza wants to get on to her friends for making fun of her aunt.

• The reader can infer that Esperanza is feeling guilty and shameful about making fun of her aunt.

• The reader can infer that Esperanza wants to turn back time so she can be with her aunt longer.

What can the reader infer about Esperanza's trip to the witch lady based on the following quote?

“My whole life on that kitchen table: past, present, future.”

• The reader can infer that Esperanza does not really care much about what the witch lady says.

• The reader can infer that the witch lady is an important person in Esperanza's life.

• The reader can infer that Esperanza has high expectations for this visit with the witch lady.

• The reader can infer that the witch lady has a bad reputation for ruining people's lives.

Based on the text, the reader can gather that Aunt Lupe and Esperanza were close to each other. Which of the following quotes best supports this inference?

• "She listened to every book, every poem I read her. One day I read her one of my own."

• "And then she died, my aunt who listened to my poems."

• The day we played the game, we didn't know she was going to die."

• Her name was Guadalupe and she was pretty like my mother. Dark. Good to look at."

There is a lot of dialogue in the vignette “Elenita, Cards, Palm, Water.” Sandra Cisneros does not use quotations marks in her vignettes when people are speaking.

What is the effect of this structural choice by the author?

• The lack of quotation marks impacts the reader’s understanding by suggesting that this is how all dialogue should be written in novels.

• The lack of quotation marks implies that people are not actually speaking.

• The lack of quotation marks impacts the meaning of the vignettes by adding poetic style and by allowing the reader to see how conversations went through Esperanza’s eyes.

• The lack of quotation marks is meant to distract the reader. It makes her writing choppy and affects the style in a negative way.

Read the following quote from page 64 and determine the answer that BEST shows significance of italicizing the word “it.”

“Ah, yes, a home in the heart. I see a home in the heart.

Is that it?

That’s what I see…”

• By italicizing the word “it,” the reader can infer that Esperanza is unhappy with the fortune she was given about her home.

• By italicizing the word “it,” the reader can infer that Esperanza is pleased with the fortune she was given about her home.

• By italicizing the word “it,” Cisneros shows the reader that Esperanza is being rude to the witch woman and greedy.

• By italicizing the word “it,” Cisneros shows the reader that Esperanza is excited about what the witch woman said.

When Esperanza goes to Elenita, what does she ask about?

• Her love life

• Aunt Lupe's disease

• A house

• A job

When Esperanza asks about her fortune, Elenita gives her the answer that she wants.

• True

• False