Reading Check and Short Answer questions on key plot points are designed for guided reading assignments, in-class review, formative assessment, quizzes, and more.

Chapters 1-2

Reading Check

1. What is Eddie’s theory about where heat vapors come from?

2. Why did Eddie drop out of City College?

3. How does Eddie earn money?

4. What is ironic about Angel’s name?

5. What does Eddie’s tía unwrap from her red dish towel?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. What do Lupe and Angel ask of Eddie? Describe how Eddie feels about this request.

2. Who lives in North Fresno? Describe what Eddie notices about the man he helps in North Fresno at the end of Chapter 1.

3. Who hires Eddie for work in Chapter 2? Describe what type of work he does and what he thinks about this job.

4. What special job is Eddie given in Chapter 2? Summarize why the job does not go as planned.

Paired Resource

“Broken Ladders: Climbing the Economic Ladder in Fresno Can Be Tough. Here’s Why”

• The FresnoBee’s 2022 article on social mobility in Fresno, California
• Consider how the lack of recent social mobility in Fresno, California relates to the negotiation between Determinism and Choice in Eddie’s narrative.