What event brings the neighborhood together at the start of The Three Sisters?

The death of Lucy and Rachel's baby sister

Esperanza's family moving off of Mango Street

A wedding held in the neighborhood

The opening of a new store on the block

Who are the three sisters as they appear in this vignette?

Elderly comadres nobody can quite place

Nuns visiting from a nearby parish

Esperanza's aunts on her mother's side

Neighbors who live at the end of the block

What do the sisters do first when they call Esperanza over to them?

They ask her name and approve of it

They tell her to go and pray for the baby

They ask her where she lives on the block

They warn her not to leave the wake early

What does Esperanza wish for when the sisters tell her to make a wish?

That she will get to leave Mango Street

That the baby who died will be remembered

That she will be given a different name

That her family will finally have money

What does the sister mean when she calls Esperanza's future a circle?

That leaving has to be followed by returning

That her life will simply repeat her mother's

That the neighborhood will never change at all

That her wish is not going to come true

Why is Esperanza ashamed after the sister speaks to her?

She realizes her wish included no one but herself

She had lied to the sisters about her real name

She had not wanted to attend the wake at all

She could not remember what she had wished for

Which mythological figures are the three sisters most often compared to?

The Fates, who assign a life its shape

The Muses, who inspire poetry and song

The Furies, who pursue the guilty

How does this vignette change the meaning of the novel's ending?

It makes the ending a return rather than an escape

It proves Esperanza will never leave the street

It shifts the focus onto Lucy and Rachel instead

It removes any hope of a house of her own

Which of these events actually occur in The Three Sisters?

Lucy and Rachel's baby sister dies and the neighbors gather for the wake.

The sisters ask Esperanza her name and tell her it is a good one.

One of the sisters tells Esperanza she must come back for the others.

Esperanza tells the sisters out loud exactly what she wished for.

The sisters move onto Mango Street and become Esperanza's neighbors.

Esperanza refuses to make a wish when the sisters ask her to.

What does 'comadres' mean, as it describes the three old women who appear among the mourners at the wake?

Godmothers or close family friends of a household

Professional mourners hired to attend a funeral

Older sisters born into a single family

Women who run a neighborhood church group

What does 'incantation' mean in this description: the repeated phrase 'you will always' gives the sister's prophecy the cadence of an incantation?

Words spoken as a charm or a spell

A quiet apology offered to a guest

A list recited to help with memory

An argument made to persuade someone

The House on Mango Street, The Three Sisters quiz

From The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros

Chapter 41 of The House on Mango Street: in The Three Sisters, three comadres grant Esperanza a wish and bind her to come back for the others.

12 questions · about 13 minutes

Read the story

Questions and answers

1
Question 1. What event brings the neighborhood together at the start of The Three Sisters?
- Correct answer: The death of Lucy and Rachel's baby sister
- Esperanza's family moving off of Mango Street
- A wedding held in the neighborhood
- The opening of a new store on the block
Lucy and Rachel's baby sister dies, and the neighbors gather at the family's home for the wake, which is where Esperanza meets the three sisters.
Read the passage
2
Question 2. Who are the three sisters as they appear in this vignette?
- Nuns visiting from a nearby parish
- Correct answer: Elderly comadres nobody can quite place
- Esperanza's aunts on her mother's side
- Neighbors who live at the end of the block
They are three old comadres who arrive at the wake unexplained. Cisneros never names them, and Esperanza never sees them again.
Read the passage
3
Question 3. What do the sisters do first when they call Esperanza over to them?
- Correct answer: They ask her name and approve of it
- They tell her to go and pray for the baby
- They ask her where she lives on the block
- They warn her not to leave the wake early
They ask her name before anything else, and when she gives it they tell her it is a good name, blessing an identity she has spent the book resenting.
Read the passage
4
Question 4. What does Esperanza wish for when the sisters tell her to make a wish?
- That the baby who died will be remembered
- Correct answer: That she will get to leave Mango Street
- That she will be given a different name
- That her family will finally have money
Her wish is to get away from Mango Street. She makes it silently and does not tell anyone what she wished for.
Read the passage
5
Question 5. What does the sister mean when she calls Esperanza's future a circle?
- That her life will simply repeat her mother's
- Correct answer: That leaving has to be followed by returning
- That the neighborhood will never change at all
- That her wish is not going to come true
The circle replaces the straight line of escape with a shape that bends back. Esperanza may go, but she must come back for the ones who cannot.
Read the passage
6
Question 6. Why is Esperanza ashamed after the sister speaks to her?
- Correct answer: She realizes her wish included no one but herself
- She had lied to the sisters about her real name
- She had not wanted to attend the wake at all
- She could not remember what she had wished for
Hearing her own wish said back to her, Esperanza recognizes that it made no room for the people she would be leaving behind.
Read the passage
7
Question 7. Which mythological figures are the three sisters most often compared to?
- The Muses, who inspire poetry and song
- Correct answer: The Fates, who assign a life its shape
- The Furies, who pursue the guilty
- The Graces, who bestow beauty
Like the Fates, the sisters arrive unbidden, grant a wish, and pronounce the shape that the rest of a life must take.
Read the passage
8
Question 8. How does this vignette change the meaning of the novel's ending?
- Correct answer: It makes the ending a return rather than an escape
- It proves Esperanza will never leave the street
- It shifts the focus onto Lucy and Rachel instead
- It removes any hope of a house of her own
Without the sisters' instruction the closing vignettes would read as getting out. With it, they read as a promise to come back.
Read the passage
9
Question 9. Which of these events actually occur in The Three Sisters?
- Lucy and Rachel's baby sister dies and the neighbors gather for the wake.
  
  Happened
- The sisters ask Esperanza her name and tell her it is a good one.
  
  Happened
- Esperanza tells the sisters out loud exactly what she wished for.
  
  Didn't happen
- One of the sisters tells Esperanza she must come back for the others.
  
  Happened
- The sisters move onto Mango Street and become Esperanza's neighbors.
  
  Didn't happen
- Esperanza refuses to make a wish when the sisters ask her to.
  
  Didn't happen
Read the passage
10
Question 10. What does 'comadres' mean, as it describes the three old women who appear among the mourners at the wake?
- Correct answer: Godmothers or close family friends of a household
- Professional mourners hired to attend a funeral
- Older sisters born into a single family
- Women who run a neighborhood church group
Comadres are women bound to a family by ties of community and kinship rather than by blood alone, which is part of why nobody can quite place them.
Read the passage
11
Question 11. What does 'auspicious' mean in this description: the sisters treat Esperanza's name as auspicious, pronouncing it a good name before they say anything else?
- Correct answer: Promising good fortune
- Difficult to pronounce
- Common in the neighborhood
- Borrowed from a relative
Auspicious means promising good fortune. The sisters read her name as a favorable sign, which is why they bless it before saying anything else.
Read the passage
12
Question 12. What does 'incantation' mean in this description: the repeated phrase 'you will always' gives the sister's prophecy the cadence of an incantation?
- Correct answer: Words spoken as a charm or a spell
- A quiet apology offered to a guest
- A list recited to help with memory
- An argument made to persuade someone
An incantation is a chanted charm or spell. The repetition of you will always gives the sister's words a binding, spell-like force.
Read the passage

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Questions and answers

Question 1. What event brings the neighborhood together at the start of The Three Sisters?

Question 2. Who are the three sisters as they appear in this vignette?

Question 3. What do the sisters do first when they call Esperanza over to them?

Question 4. What does Esperanza wish for when the sisters tell her to make a wish?

Question 5. What does the sister mean when she calls Esperanza's future a circle?

Question 6. Why is Esperanza ashamed after the sister speaks to her?

Question 7. Which mythological figures are the three sisters most often compared to?

Question 8. How does this vignette change the meaning of the novel's ending?

Question 9. Which of these events actually occur in The Three Sisters?

Question 10. What does 'comadres' mean, as it describes the three old women who appear among the mourners at the wake?

Question 11. What does 'auspicious' mean in this description: the sisters treat Esperanza's name as auspicious, pronouncing it a good name before they say anything else?

Question 12. What does 'incantation' mean in this description: the repeated phrase 'you will always' gives the sister's prophecy the cadence of an incantation?