When I Was Puerto Rican

Use this activity to engage all types of learners, while requiring that they refer to and incorporate details from the text over the course of the activity.

“Interview With a Santiago Sibling”

In this activity, students will demonstrate their understanding of important thematic elements of the text by writing an imagined interview with one of Santiago’s younger siblings.

In Chapter 14, what does Santiago reveal about the eventual life paths of her younger brothers and sisters? What does this tell you about how their personalities and beliefs might differ from Santiago’s? What does this reveal about their opportunities in life? Considering all of this, how might one of her younger siblings react to Santiago’s success? Write an imagined interview with one of the siblings in which they react to their older sister’s literary fame.

Your interview should:

• Be set up in the question-and-answer interview format. See an example here.
• Be about two pages long.
• Make it clear which sibling is being interviewed.
• Reveal the younger sibling’s perspective on Santiago’s success.
• Reveal the younger sibling’s perspective on Family and Family Duty, Womanhood, The American Dream and Hard Work, and Education and Learning.

When you finish, write a paragraph-length reflection that explains what textual evidence you relied on to explore this sibling’s perspective.

Teaching Suggestion: Although there is plenty of evidence in the text regarding the personalities and beliefs of some of Santiago’s siblings, others are less clearly portrayed. You may wish to guide students in the direction of some of the more well-developed portrayals, pointing out to students that they will eventually need to write a justification of their choices. You might offer more advanced students the additional challenge of creating and justifying an appropriate voice for the Santiago sibling—although, of course, you will wish to caution them about the inappropriateness of trying to create the written equivalent of an “accent” and emphasize that in this case “voice” should focus on personality, educational level, and worldview.

Differentiation Suggestion: Students who struggle with reading fluency, attention, or organization may have difficulty gathering and organizing evidence. These students may benefit from working with a partner or small group, at least during the preliminary stage of reviewing the text to find a sibling’s perspective. Students who have difficulty with abstractions may find it challenging to imagine a perspective that is not directly stated in Santiago’s text. After gathering evidence, these students may need some assistance from a partner or small group to understand what the evidence implies.

Use these essay questions as writing and critical thinking exercises for all levels of writers, and to build their literary analysis skills by requiring textual references throughout the essay.

Differentiation Suggestion: For English learners or struggling writers, strategies that work well include graphic organizers, sentence frames or starters, group work, or oral responses.

Scaffolded Essay Questions

Student Prompt: Write a short (1-3 paragraph) response using one of the bulleted outlines below. Cite details from the text over the course of your response that serve as examples and support.

1. Santiago’s life changes dramatically when her mother moves her to New York City.

• Based on the characterization of Santiago when she is still living in Puerto Rico, is it likely that she would have gone to college and become an author had she stayed in Puerto Rico? (topic sentence)
• Give at least three pieces of evidence from the text that support your analysis of Santiago’s character and its relationship to her future had she stayed in Puerto Rico.
• In your concluding sentence or sentences, comment on the relationship of your analysis to one or more of the following themes: Womanhood, Family Duty and Responsibility, The American Dream and Hard Work, and Education and Learning.

2. When she is still a child, Santiago hears various labels applied to women.

• How do these labels provoke questions in Santiago about her own identity? (topic sentence)
• Give at least three pieces of evidence from the text that support your analysis of the relationship of these labels to Santiago’s identity.
• In your concluding sentence or sentences, relate your ideas to the themes of Womanhood and Labels and Stereotypes.

3. As she matures, Santiago develops a drive to achieve in school.

• Does the narrative she writes about her life seem to value formal academic learning or other kinds of less formal education more highly? (topic sentence)
• Give at least three pieces of evidence from the text that support your claim about which kind of education Santiago seems to value more.
• In your concluding sentence or sentences, comment on how the two kinds of learning relate to the book’s thematic emphasis on Education and Learning.

Full Essay Assignments

Student Prompt: Write a structured and well-developed essay. Include a thesis statement, at least three main points supported by text details, and a conclusion.

1. What specific incidents cause the women in this story to believe that men are “sinverguenzas”? What does the term “sinverguenzas” literally mean, and what is its idiomatic meaning? What is it understood to mean in this book? What does the difference in these meanings tell you about how responsible the men in the story are held for their bad behavior toward women? Do you think that the men in this story are unable to control themselves, or is there another explanation for their selfish sexual behavior and sexual aggression? Write an essay in which you analyze the interpretation of men’s sexual behavior by women in When I Was Puerto Rican. Discuss the messages about Womanhood that are implicit in women’s interpretation of male behavior. Support your analysis with evidence from throughout the text, making sure to cite any quoted material or evidence gathered from outside sources.

2. The book opens with a detailed description of guava fruit, and throughout the story, food continues to play an important role. How does food relate to identity in this book? How does it represent more than just physical sustenance, and what relationship does this have to the ideas of nurturing, providing, and loving? Consider the failed food truck, Tita Generosa’s oatmeal, Santiago’s fear of contaminated food in El Mangle, and other passages that center on food. Write an essay analyzing the symbolic value of food in When I Was Puerto Rican. Briefly reflect on the relationship between your analysis and the book’s theme of Family and Family Duty. Support your analysis with evidence from throughout the text, making sure to cite any quoted material.

3. How would you describe Santiago’s tone and voice in this narrative? What do diction and other language choices contribute to her tone and voice? How do detail choices contribute? How does tone help create voice? How do Santiago’s tone and voice influence the reader’s feelings about important thematic elements in this text? Choose one thematic area: Coming of Age, Labels and Stereotypes, Family and Family Duty, Womanhood, The American Dream and Hard Work, Religion, or Education and Learning. Write an essay analyzing how Santiago’s tone and voice influence the reader’s understanding of this theme. Support your analysis with both quoted and paraphrased evidence from throughout the text, making sure to cite all quoted material.

Multiple Choice and Long Answer Questions create ideal opportunities for whole-text review, exams, or summative assessments.

Multiple Choice

1. Which is the most accurate description of Mami’s parenting?

A) She resents her children and longs to be free of them.

B) She is sometimes harsh and sometimes loving.

C) She is overburdened but nurturing and kind.

D) She depends on her children for her sense of identity.

2. Which belief about men does Santiago absorb as a child in Puerto Rico?

A) Men are unable to control their urges.

B) Men are funny and carefree.

C) Men are violent and frightening.

D) Men are the backbone of family life.

3. Which is the most accurate characterization of Santiago’s father?

A) He is a cold and bitter person who only cares about himself.

B) He is strong and loving but burdened with too much responsibility.

C) He is only able to be nurturing and vulnerable with his children.

D) He is sometimes hard-working but is often selfish toward others.

4. What idea about moving to a new place does Mami model for Santiago in her childhood?

A) Moving is a sad necessity for people living in poverty.

B) Moving is a way to test the dedication of your partner.

C) Moving can help you escape your problems.

D) Moving is a way to reinvent yourself as a new person.

5. What is the rhetorical purpose of including details like Mami taking the food home from the school’s nutrition lesson, the Santiago children’s bout with worms, and the condition of the El Mangle lagoon?

A) These details demonstrate the family’s disadvantaged circumstances.

B) These details demonstrate the failings of Puerto Rico’s government.

C) These details call into question Santiago’s reliability as a narrator.

D) These details create a tone of detached, almost cynical humor.

6. What do Santiago’s experiences at school and with learning the piano both demonstrate about her character?

A) She is selfish.

B) She is easily flustered.

C) She is determined.

D) She is precocious.

7. Which motif runs through many of Santiago’s childhood experiences?

A) She wishes she were an only child.

B) She often feels as if she does not fit in.

C) She often feels as if no one loves her.

D) She wishes she were born a boy.

8. How does Santiago’s relationship with her mother change after the move to New York?

A) She begins to think her mother hates her.

B) She begins to see her mother’s limitations.

C) She begins to truly love her mother.

D) She begins to feel more respect for her mother.

9. Which is the most accurate characterization of Santiago as a child?

A) She is a charming and witty child whom others naturally gravitate toward and want to help.

B) She is a quiet and content child who adores her family and her life in Puerto Rico.

C) She is a restless and spirited child who wants more from life than what is being provided to her.

D) She is a confused and withdrawn child who has been badly damaged by her circumstances.

10. Which character is most vocally in support of the American Dream?

A) Mami

B) Papi

C) Uncle Chico

D) Tata

11. Which character functions as a symbol of the guilt Santiago carries with her?

A) Don Joaquin

B) Gloria

C) Sra. Leona

D) Raymond

12. Who is responsible for Santiago’s first encounter with male sexual aggression?

A) Uncle Chico

B) Don Luis

C) The truck driver

D) Tato

13. What do Gloria and the woman Santiago speaks to at her old school in Chapter 14 have in common?

A) They are important maternal figures to Santiago.

B) They support Santiago’s learning and growth.

C) They compete with Santiago for scarce resources.

D) They offer Santiago harsh critical feedback.

14. What conclusion about her own life does Santiago’s parents’ relationship inspire?

A) She will not have children without getting married.

B) She will marry a man as unlike her father as possible.

C) She does not want to marry or have children.

D) She will not take out relationship problems on her own children.

15. When Santiago is frustrated by the limitations of her life, what does she most often use as an outlet?

A) Team sports

B) The arts

C) Romantic relationships

D) Extended family

Long Answer

Compose a response of 2-3 sentences, incorporating text details to support your response. 

1. How does Mami instill an exaggerated sense of guilt in Santiago?

2. How is Santiago’s reaction to her mother’s makeup when her mother starts working related to the constant labeling and categorizing of women in this narrative?