Under The Mesquite

Multiple Choice

1. A (All chapters)

2. D (All chapters)

3. B (Part 6, “At Abuelita’s House”)

4. A (All chapters)

5. C (All chapters)

6. D (All chapters)

7. C (Part 5, Chapter 25 “Mami’s Roses”)

8. B (All chapters)

9. A (all chapters)

10. D (Part 3, “To Be or Not to Be Mexican”)

11. C (All chapters)

12. B (Part 3, Chapter 24 “News”)

13. D (Part 5, Chapter 40 “Mi Madre”)

14. A (Part 6, Chapter 47 “In the Parking Lot”)

15. C (Part 6, “At Abuelita’s House”)

Long Answer

1. The mesquite is a symbol of Lupita’s resilience and ultimate ability to adapt to change. She admires how it grows through adversity (Part 5, Chapter 34 “Mami’s Home”) and feels that it is her “confidant” for her poems (Part 4, Chapter 31 “A Mesquite in the Rose Garden”). After Mami’s death, it is a symbol of strength for her, one upon which she leans until she finally embraces her own. (Part 6, Chapter 41 “Poems From Under the Mesquite”)

2. Before her cancer diagnosis, Mami is the matriarch of the family: She cares for eight children and is devoted to their welfare, nurturing, and attentive.