The House on Mango Street, Our Good Day quiz

Questions and answers

1. 1

   Question 1. Why does the younger sister first approach Esperanza?

   • Correct answer: To ask her to chip in five dollars toward a bicycle
   • To warn her about the other families on the block
   • To ask her to walk to school with them tomorrow
   • To sell her a bicycle the sisters no longer want

   The sisters are short of the money for a bike they are buying from a kid named Tito, so the little one offers Esperanza friendship forever in exchange for five dollars.

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2. 2

   Question 2. How much money do the sisters already have before Esperanza joins in?

   • Two dollars
   • Five dollars
   • Correct answer: Ten dollars
   • Fifteen dollars

   They already have ten dollars and need five more, which is exactly the amount Esperanza runs into the house to get.

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3. 3

   Question 3. Where does Esperanza's five dollars come from?

   • Five dollars she earned running errands
   • Correct answer: Three of her own dollars and two of Nenny's
   • Money her mother gives her for the bicycle
   • Loose change she finds around the house

   She has three dollars saved and takes two from Nenny, who is not home to be asked, deciding that Nenny will be glad once they own a bike.

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4. 4

   Question 4. What happens when Esperanza tells Lucy and Rachel her name?

   • They ask her to repeat it several times
   • They invent a nickname for her instead
   • Correct answer: They accept it without laughing at all
   • They say it sounds like a Texas name

   Esperanza braces for mockery and wishes in that moment that she were called almost anything else, but the sisters simply take the name and move on to the bike.

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5. 5

   Question 5. How do the three girls settle the question of whose bike it is?

   • Each girl saves up for her own separate bicycle
   • Lucy keeps it because her family paid the most
   • Correct answer: Turns start after tomorrow, and today it is shared
   • Esperanza rides first for bringing the last money

   Rachel proposes one turn each, but since the bike is new and everyone wants it now, they agree the turns will begin after tomorrow.

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6. 6

   Question 6. Why doesn't Esperanza mention Nenny to her new friends?

   • Nenny has asked her to keep the bike a secret
   • Correct answer: She says it would be too complicated to explain
   • Lucy and Rachel refuse to play with younger kids
   • Nenny is away visiting relatives down in Texas

   She has spent Nenny's money without permission and wants the new friendship to be hers alone, so she puts the explanation off.

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7. 7

   Question 7. What does Cathy's remark about the sisters mainly reveal?

   • Her honest concern for Esperanza's safety
   • Correct answer: Her contempt for poorer families on the block
   • Her fear of the older boys in the neighborhood
   • Her wish to buy the bicycle for herself instead

   The insult is aimed at the sisters' poverty, and Esperanza sees the very same worn clothes and sockless shoes yet likes the girls anyway.

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8. 8

   Question 8. What does the route of the bicycle ride suggest about the girls' freedom?

   • It is unlimited, because they ride out of the city
   • Correct answer: It widens their map but loops back to Mango Street
   • It is blocked, because they never leave their own yard
   • It ends badly in an argument with the storekeepers

   They get as far as the corner grocery and the dangerous avenue, but the ride curves around the block and returns them to the same street.

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9. 9

   Question 9. Which of these events actually occur in this vignette?

   • Esperanza makes up her five dollars with two of Nenny's.

     Happened

   • Cathy is gone by the time Esperanza comes back outside.

     Happened

   • Lucy pedals the bicycle because she has the longest legs.

     Happened

   • Nenny climbs onto the handlebars and rides with the girls.

     Didn't happen

   • Esperanza tells the sisters her name is Cassandra instead.

     Didn't happen

   • The girls take strict one-at-a-time turns on the bike today.

     Didn't happen

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10. 10

    Question 10. What does 'chip in' mean as used in: 'trying to get somebody to chip in so they can buy a bicycle'?

    • Correct answer: Contribute a share of the money
    • Break a chip off a hard surface
    • Argue over who should pay more
    • Borrow money and repay it later

    To chip in is to put in your share toward something bought together, which is exactly what the sisters need from Esperanza.

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11. 11

    Question 11. What does 'wobbly' mean as used in: 'which makes the bike all wobbly as if the wheels are spaghetti'?

    • Moving at a very high speed
    • Squeaking loudly with every turn
    • Correct answer: Unsteady and rocking side to side
    • Firmly balanced and easy to steer

    Wobbly means unsteady, and the spaghetti comparison exaggerates it into wheels too limp to hold a straight line.

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12. 12

    Question 12. What does 'sassy' mean as used in: 'Rachel shouts, You got quite a load there too. She is very sassy.'?

    • Shy and unwilling to speak to adults
    • Correct answer: Boldly cheeky and quick with a comeback
    • Careful never to hurt anyone's feelings
    • Embarrassed at being teased by a stranger

    Sassy means impudent and quick-tongued, and Rachel earns the label by throwing a grown woman's remark straight back at her.

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