Dominicana

Parts 1-2

Reading Check

1. Eleven (Part 1)

2. Teresa (Part 1)

3. A hotel (Part 1)

4. César (Part 2)

5. The bodega (Part 2)

6. Malcolm X (Part 2)

Short Answer

1. Dominican dictator Rafael Trujillo has just been assassinated, and there is a lot of uncertainty in Ana’s community as a result. (Part 1)

2. Ana thinks that Teresa is being unwise and that she should pursue her romance with El Guardia in a more proper and aboveboard way. (Part 1)

3. Ana suspects that Juan does not really want to marry her and that his brothers are pressuring him to propose so that they can get closer to a deal to buy her father’s land. (Part 1)

4. Mamá is asking Ana whether she is cute and harmless like a manatee or dangerous and powerful like a shark. (Part 2)

5. The apartment is dirty and smells bad, which demonstrates that Juan is lazy about taking care of his environment and thinks that this is a woman’s job. There are boxes along one wall that Juan tells Ana she cannot open and women’s makeup under a sink, which demonstrates that Juan is already keeping secrets from Ana. (Part 2)

6. When Juan learns that Ana has opened the door to a neighbor, he slaps her. This tells Ana that Juan will enforce his will with violence against her. (Part 2)

Parts 3-4

Reading Check

1. Nail polish (Part 3)

2. Pigeon meat (Part 3)

3. Juan and Ana’s sister-in-law/Hector’s wife (Part 3)

4. The Sound of Music (Part 4)

5. English classes (Part 4)

6. Beauty school (Part 4)

Short Answer

1. Juan is in love with Caridad and wishes he could leave Ana for her, but he feels a duty to Ana because, other than him, she has no one else in America. (Part 3)

2. Marisela tells Ana that she wants to open a beauty parlor where all the women can work together. (Part 3)

3. Realizing that Juan will not hit her in front of other people, she demands that he buy her a coat as well as the dress they have come to buy. (Part 3)

4. When Ana finally tracks Marisela down, Marisela pretends she does not know Ana. This hurts Ana deeply, especially since she has sacrificed and taken risks to make Juan believe that Marisela is still paying her debt to him. (Parts 3 and 4)

5. The recent overthrow of the government has led to instability that is hurting the Ruiz family’s businesses. Juan’s older brother Ramón, desperate, makes a foolish investment that empties their family’s accounts. (Parts 3 and 4)

6. He takes Ana to the World’s Fair, where he helps her sell the pastelitos. (Part 4)

Parts 5-6

Reading Check

1. Juanita (Part 5)

2. Race riots/protests (Part 5)

3. A bar (Part 5)

4. Juanita is pregnant. (Part 6)

5. Altagracia (Part 6)

6. The bodega (Part 6)

Short Answer

1. She writes that she raised her daughter and had a happy life. (Part 5)

2. He is fired during an immigration sweep, even though he has papers documenting his right to work. (Part 5)

3. Ana and César confess their feelings for one another and begin a sexual relationship. César asks Ana to run away with him to Boston. (Part 5)

4. Juan tells her that he has arranged the legal paperwork for her mother and brother to join them in New York. (Part 6)

5. Juan claims that César has a new girlfriend in Boston. (Part 6)

6. Instead of being fearful and backing down, Ana spits in Juan’s face. (Part 6)