The Distance Between Us

Multiple Choice and Long Answer questions create ideal opportunities for whole-book review, unit exam, or summative assessments.

1. What impact do Mother’s Day celebrations have on Reyna?

A) Feeling encouraged, she leans into celebrating her grandmother Evila as her mother figure but is repulsed by her gandmother’s foul odor.

B) Feeling sad, she questions whether or not her mother loves her, writing on her school work, “¿Mi mama me ama?”

C) Feeling generous, she forces her siblings to make presents for Tía Emperatriz, who has stepped in as their maternal figure.

D) Feeling empathetic, she encourages Carlos to help her make a card and steal some fruit to give to Mago for stepping in as their “Little Mother.”

2. Which statement best reflects the Grande children’s conflict about taking on Tía Emperatriz as a mother figure?

A) “I don’t see Tía as my mother. She’s more like an older sister to me.” (Book 1, Chapter 9)

B) “When he said to write the sentences ten times I couldn’t stop my hands from shaking as I wrote the words down.” (Book 1, Chapter 9)

C) “But she’s here now, I had told myself that evening, so I walked to her and offered her my gift.” (Book 1, Chapter 9)

D) “Every time I closed my eyes to remember [my mother], I would hear Tía Emperatriz’s laughter. If I took a breath, I would inhale the fragrance of Tía Emperatriz’s shampoo that smelled of roses.” (Book 1, Chapter 9)

3. Which of the following statements best resolves the tension between memory and imagination in Grande’s life?

A) “And why couldn’t he just let me be so that I could replay the most important moment of my life again and again without disruption?” (Book 2, Chapter 14)

B) “Every time I closed my eyes to remember [my mother], I would hear Tía Emperatriz’s laughter. If I took a breath, I would inhale the fragrance of Tía Emperatriz’s shampoo that smelled of roses.” (Book 1, Chapter 10)

C) “With the bright red color on her lips, hot pink cheeks, and dark blue eye shadow, Mami became a different woman, and I could almost see that other mother—the one she was before she left—peeking through.” (Book 1, Chapter 16)

D) “I closed my eyes, and saw myself at the water’s edge, holding tightly to my father’s calloused hand. And I let it go.” (Book 2, Chapter 24)

4. Which event in the Grande children’s lives caused Mago to feel disillusioned with the father she loved?

A) Refusing to bring Reyna to America with them

B) Refusing to take Carlos to the hospital for a broken leg

C) Leaving their mother for another woman

D) Shooting at their mother over Betty

5. What impact does Grande’s inclusion of photos have on the narrative?

A) Contrast. The images often depict happy family moments, despite the author peppering harrowing events throughout. These images highlight how pictures can shift narratives away from or toward truth.

B) Clarity. With so many characters/family members in the narrative, it is difficult for readers to keep up. The photo album helps readers keep up with the narrative pace.

C) Exposure. Grande wants readers to be able to recognize her family if they ever meet them in person. In other moments, she pushes family businesses and artistic endeavors, again making facial recognition important.

D) Authenticity. The photos often depict moments in their most truthful light. When Grade describes a scene in detail, readers can cross-check her retelling against the photographs.

6. Which plot scenario represents Reyna’s reflective statement that her mother “was two people in one: a woman who wanted to be loved by a man, and a mother who wanted to do right by her children?” (Book 1, Chapter 18)

A) Her mother refusing to return Betty to the United States to live with The Man Behind the Glass.

B) Her mother, living in Los Angeles, collecting cans to pay for junk food and English classes for Betty and Leonardo

C) Her mother running off to start a new life with her professional wrestler boyfriend, leaving the children behind.

D) The time her mother brought a new boyfriend to Christmas but didn’t stay because the children didn’t like him.

7. Which statement best captures the evolution of Mago’s attitude toward her father?

A) From reverent to proud, to understanding, to disillusioned

B) From reverent to hopeful, to disillusioned, to disgusted

C) From forgotten to angry, to frightened, to disgusted

D) From careful to hopeful, to cheerful, to understanding

8. What might account for Mila’s demand that she never see the Grande children again if she is to remain married to their father?

A) Since the children are adults now, Mila sees no reason to continue to care for them and have them in her life.

B) Despite everything she gave them, the Grande children were ungrateful to Mila, straining her marriage to their father.

C) Mila was still a young woman who wanted to start her own family, and the Grande children would just get in the way.

D) Mila resents raising the Grande children, especially since she couldn’t have much contact with her children.

9. Why does Grande work so hard to earn her father’s approval when she’s young?

A) She feels she has to prove to her father that she’s worth the risk and the money to sneak across the border.

B) She feels like she has to earn her place in the family and stand out from her siblings at school and home.

C) She fears being forced to live with her mother and work in a factory in East Los Angeles to survive.

D) She wants him to love her for who she is and what she has done.

10. What does Reyna gain from trying to please her father?

A) Nothing. Reyna’s father’s abusive nature erases all love and respect she has ever had for him.

B) The value of education. Reyna develops the habits and mindsets needed to succeed and achieve upward mobility.

C) Acclaim. Reyna receives a full ride to the college of her choice, opportunities to perform at the Rose Bowl and recognition for her writing.

D) Identity. Reyna develops a sense of self, family, purpose, and pride in personal achievement.

11. What theme does Grande explore with her contrasting depictions of life with Abuelita Chinta against life with Evila?

A) Intersection of Memory and Imagination

B) Geographical and Emotional Distance Within Immigrant Families

C) Conflict Between Concepts of House Versus Home

D) Forging New Identities as Immigrants

12. Which person in Reyna’s life best represents the tension that arises as the Grande children work to forge new identities as immigrants?

A) Mago

B) Betty

C) Mila

D) Mami

13. What events help Reyna best understand and respect her father’s high expectations for his children’s education?

A) Winning a writing contest and reading her essay aloud at the Rose Bowl in 1992

B) Going back to Mexico and seeing what her life could have been without educational opportunity

C) Experiencing teasing from Don Oscar’s children at Mago’s quinceañera and being forced to work as a servant

D) Sitting in a separate section in her elementary classroom because she couldn’t speak English

14. Which object, person, or idea is imbued with the most cathexis in this memoir?

A) Mago’s cross necklace

B) Reyna’s pen

C) The Man Behind the Glass photo

D) Papi’s hands

Long Answer

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

1. The Grande children’s father can easily be perceived and depicted as a villainous figure. How does Grande humanize her abusive father throughout the narrative?

2. Which parent does Grande seem to respect or like more? What textual evidence supports your claim?