AnswersHopkins FA American Literature 2026-2027Contemporary American Indian Voices

Latin American Magic Realist Voices Answers

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What is the advantage of reading from three different perspectives in Cristina Garcia’s Dreaming in Cuban?

I
It breaks up the narrative and prevents the plot line from becoming bogged down in one particular place or time.
I
It allows the writer to experiment with a variety of different writing styles, as every speaker sounds distinctively different.
T
The different perspectives underscore the larger idea that immigrants or exiles must shed their native traditions.
I
It provides the reader with multiple perspectives on the Cuban Revolution and on the differences between life in Cuba and exile in the US.
2
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Read the excerpt from Cristina Garcia’s Dreaming in Cuban.My mother says that Abuela Celia’s had plenty of chances to leave Cuba but that she’s stubborn and got her head turned around by El Líder. Mom says “Communist” the way some people says “cancer,” low and fierce.Which element from this excerpt best characterizes Garcia’s story as one of magic realism?

A
linking the words “communist” and “cancer”
B
presenting the idea of leaving Cuba as an extraordinary event
C
using El Líder as an additional narrator from Cuba
D
connecting Celia with Latin American history ✓ Correct
3

Read the two excerpts about Jorge del Pino from Dreaming in Cuban.Excerpt 1: My grandfather came running and said, “Celia, let the girl go. She belongs with Lourdes.” Excerpt 2: “Pilar doesn’t hate you, hija. She just hasn’t learned to love you yet.”Which statement best synthesizes the ideas in these two excerpts?

A
Jorge understands that mother-daughter relationships can be complex.
B
Jorge values his relationship with his daughter more than the one with his wife.
C
Jorge wants more than anything to build a closer relationship with his granddaughter.
D
Jorge wants his family to value their Cuban background and stay together.
4

Read the excerpt from Cristina Garcia’s Dreaming in Cuban.If it were up to me, I’d record other things. Like the time there was a freak hailstorm in the Congo and the women took it as a sign that they should rule . . . Why don’t I know anything about them? Who chooses what we should know or what’s important? I know I have to decide these things for myself. Most of what I’ve learned that’s important I’ve learned on my own, or from my grandmother.What does the excerpt reveal about Cristina Garcia?

A
Her background in journalism has made the writing of realistic fiction more difficult for her.
B
Her background in journalism has helped her research and use realistic details in her fiction.
C
Her background in journalism has prevented her from using magic realism in her fiction.
D
Her background in journalism has caused her to become an efficient and thorough editor.
5

My father knew I understood more than I could say. He told me stories about Cuba after Columbus came. He said that the Spaniards wiped out more Indians with smallpox than with muskets.

S
She shows the close relationship that Pilar had with her father.
S
She connects the events to the colonial history of Latin America.
S
She is a modern writer developing a story about Spanish history.
S
She characterizes Columbus’s discovery as an extraordinary event.
6

Read the excerpt from Cristina Garcia’s Dreaming in Cuban.I don’t really want to talk about my father but I end up telling Minnie how he used to take me horseback riding on our ranch, strapping me in his saddle with a leather seat belt he designed just for me. Dad’s family owned casinos in Cuba, and had one of the largest ranches on the island. There were beef cattle and dairy cows, horses, pigs, goats, and lambs. Dad fed them molasses to fatten them, and gave the chickens corn and sorghum until they laid vermilion eggs, rich with vitamins. He took me on an overnight inspection once. We camped out under a sapodilla tree and listened to the pygmy owls with their old women’s voices. My father knew I understood more than I could say. He told me stories about Cuba after Columbus came. He said that the Spaniards wiped out more Indians with smallpox than with muskets.How does the structure of the excerpt add meaning to the passage?

A
It includes historical information about the Spaniards and Indians to indicate the work is nonfiction.
B
It describes the setting of the ranch owned by Pilar’s Cuban grandparents to explain family values.
C
It uses several narrators to share their points of view about past and present life in Cuba.
D
It manipulates the chronological order of events to reveal the close relationship between Pilar and her father.
7

Read the excerpt from Cristina Garcia’s Dreaming in Cuban.That’s it. My mind’s made up. I’m going back to Cuba. I’m fed up with everything around here. I take all my money out of the bank, $120, money I earned slaving away at my mother’s bakery, and buy a one-way bus ticket to Miami. I figure if I can just get there, I’ll be able to make my way to Cuba, maybe rent a boat or get a fisherman to take me. I imagine Abuela [grandmother] Celia’s surprise as I sneak up behind her. She’ll be sitting in her wicker swing overlooking the sea and she’ll smell of salt and violet water. There’ll be gulls and crabs along the shore. She’ll stroke my cheek with her cool hands, sing quietly in my ear.The complex narrative structure used in the excerpt is an example of

A
establishing a work of fiction that is based on nonfiction.
B
several narrators being used.
C
unconventional text features.
D
the chronological order of events being manipulated.
8

I was only two years old when I left Cuba but I remember everything that’s happened to me since I was a baby, even word-for-word conversations. I was sitting in my grandmother’s lap, playing with her drop pearl earrings, when my mother told her we were leaving the country. Abuela Celia called her a traitor to the revolution. Mom tried to pull me away but I clung to the Abuela and screamed at the top of my lungs. My grandfather came running and said, “Celia, let the girl go. She belongs with Lourdes.” This was the last time I saw her.

I
It uses several narrators to provide conflicting points of view.
I
It provides characterization for Celia as it reveals her physical appearance.
I
It uses a flashback to reveal the difficult relationship between Lourdes and Celia.
I
It includes dialogue to indicate that the characters in the nonfiction account are real people.
9

Read the excerpt from Cristina Garcia’s Dreaming in Cuban.Lourdes considers herself lucky. Immigration has redefined her, and she is grateful. Unlike her husband, she welcomes her adopted language, its possibilities for reinvention. Lourdes relishes winter most of all—the cold scraping sounds on sidewalks and windshields, the ritual of scarves and gloves, hats and zip-in coat linings. Its layers protect her. She wants no part of Cuba, no part of its wretched carnival floats creaking with lies, no part of Cuba at all, which Lourdes claims never possessed her.Which sentence is an example of magic realism?

A
Unlike her husband, she welcomes her adopted language, its possibilities for reinvention.
B
Lourdes relishes winter most of all—the cold scraping sounds on sidewalks and windshields, the ritual of scarves and gloves, hats and zip-in coat linings.
C
Its layers protect her.
D
She wants no part of Cuba, no part of its wretched carnival floats creaking with lies, no part of Cuba at all, which Lourdes claims never possessed her.
10

Students who have read a section of a text and do not understand it should

k
keep reading until the end of the story, when things will become clear.
a
ask themselves when comprehension was lost.
b
begin to copy any remaining text into their notes.
p
push themselves to read faster in order to finish early and review.
11

Which complex narrative structure is underutilized by Cristina Garcia in Dreaming in Cuban?

A
the attention given to presenting the work as fiction
B
the use of unconventional textual features
C
the representation of several narrators
D
the manipulation of the chronological order of events
12

Which strategy would be least useful for helping students monitor comprehension of a text as they are reading?

A
breaking long sentences into short phrases
B
slowing down and reading the text aloud
C
skimming the text to reach the conclusion
D
relating the text to prior personal knowledge
13

Draya is a student who does not understand the following sentence from Dreaming in Cuban.She reads the newspapers page by page for leftist conspiracies, jams her finger against imagined evidence and says, “See. What did I tell you?”Which previous segment should Draya reread to make the excerpt easier to understand?

A
I take all my money out of the bank, $120, money I earned slaving away at my mother’s bakery, and buy a one-way bus ticket to Miami.
B
Mom tried to pull me away but I clung to the Abuela and screamed at the top of my lungs.
C
I was only two years old when I left Cuba but I remember everything that’s happened to me since I was a baby, even word-for-word conversations.
D
Mom says “Communist” the way some people says “cancer,” low and fierce.
14

Read the excerpt from Cristina Garcia’s Dreaming in Cuban.My mother says that Abuela Celia’s had plenty of chances to leave Cuba but that she’s stubborn and got her head turned around by El Líder. Mom says “Communist” the way some people says “cancer,” low and fierce.Which element from this excerpt best characterizes Garcia’s story as one of magic realism?

A
linking the words “communist” and “cancer”
B
presenting the idea of leaving Cuba as an extraordinary event
C
using El Líder as an additional narrator from Cuba
D
connecting Celia with Latin American history
15

Which best describes why Cristina Garcia chose a multi-narrative structure for Dreaming in Cuban?

A
to illustrate that immigrants must choose one cultural identity over another
B
to illustrate that there is not just one single Cuban identity
C
to illustrate that the Cuban Revolution has not affected the younger generation
D
to illustrate that people always value their own cultural identity most
16

Read the excerpt from Cristina Garcia’s Dreaming in Cuban.Lourdes considers herself lucky. Immigration has redefined her, and she is grateful. Unlike her husband, she welcomes her adopted language, its possibilities for reinvention. Lourdes relishes winter most of all—the cold scraping sounds on sidewalks and windshields, the ritual of scarves and gloves, hats and zip-in coat linings. Its layers protect her. She wants no part of Cuba, no part of its wretched carnival floats creaking with lies, no part of Cuba at all, which Lourdes claims never possessed her.Which sentence is an example of magic realism?

A
Unlike her husband, she welcomes her adopted language, its possibilities for reinvention.
B
Lourdes relishes winter most of all—the cold scraping sounds on sidewalks and windshields, the ritual of scarves and gloves, hats and zip-in coat linings.
C
Its layers protect her.
D
She wants no part of Cuba, no part of its wretched carnival floats creaking with lies, no part of Cuba at all, which Lourdes claims never possessed her.
17

Read the excerpt from Cristina Garcia’s Dreaming in Cuban.I was only two years old when I left Cuba but I remember everything that’s happened to me since I was a baby, even word-for-word conversations. I was sitting in my grandmother’s lap, playing with her drop pearl earrings, when my mother told her we were leaving the country. Abuela Celia called her a traitor to the revolution. Mom tried to pull me away but I clung to the Abuela and screamed at the top of my lungs. My grandfather came running and said, “Celia, let the girl go. She belongs with Lourdes.” This was the last time I saw her.How does the structure of the excerpt add meaning to the passage?

A
It uses several narrators to provide conflicting points of view.
B
It provides characterization for Celia as it reveals her physical appearance.
C
It uses a flashback to reveal the difficult relationship between Lourdes and Celia.
D
It includes dialogue to indicate that the characters in the nonfiction account are real people.
18

Read the excerpt from Cristina Garcia’s Dreaming in Cuban.If it were up to me, I’d record other things. Like the time there was a freak hailstorm in the Congo and the women took it as a sign that they should rule . . . Why don’t I know anything about them? Who chooses what we should know or what’s important? I know I have to decide these things for myself. Most of what I’ve learned that’s important I’ve learned on my own, or from my grandmother.What does the excerpt reveal about Cristina Garcia?

A
Her background in journalism has made the writing of realistic fiction more difficult for her.
B
Her background in journalism has helped her research and use realistic details in her fiction.
C
Her background in journalism has prevented her from using magic realism in her fiction.
D
Her background in journalism has caused her to become an efficient and thorough editor.
19

Which sentence from Cristina Garcia’s Dreaming in Cuban is an example of magic realism?

A
Abuela Celia and I write to each other sometimes, but mostly I hear her speaking to me at night just before I fall asleep.
B
At night, especially in the summer when the sound carries, I hear the low whistles of the ships as they leave New York harbor.
C
Lourdes imagines these pieces, broken and bruised in unspeakable places, on piers and in alleyways, drifting down the river to the sea.
D
One girl left with a broken leg after slipping on a bar of soap Pilar dropped while the nanny was bathing her in the sink.
20

Look at the diagram.This diagram is best used for helping a reader

Question illustration
A
relate personally to a text.
B
define hard vocabulary words in a text.
C
monitor comprehension of a text.
D
better understand the theme of a text.

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