How Not to Drown in a Glass of Water: Full-Book Quiz

Use this quiz to check your understanding of How Not to Drown in a Glass of Water by Angie Cruz. Questions are divided into four sections: plot/sequence, character motivation, theme/symbol, and synthesis. An answer key with brief explanations follows the questions.

Plot and Sequence Questions (8)

(Multiple choice) Why does Cara Romero attend job-counseling sessions in spring 2009?
- A) She was fired from a nanny job after a misunderstanding.
- B) She lost her factory job in 2007 and her unemployment benefits are ending.
- C) The court ordered her to attend after a workplace injury.
- D) She is retraining to become a real estate agent.
(Short answer) What traumatic event caused Cara to flee the Dominican Republic with her son Fernando?
(Multiple choice) In Session Two, Cara describes an incident that led to an abuse investigation. What happened?
- A) She locked Fernando in a closet for talking back.
- B) She pushed Fernando to stop him from leaving the apartment, and he hit his head on the wall.
- C) She struck Fernando with a chancleta, leaving a visible bruise.
- D) She refused to feed Fernando for a day after he disobeyed her.
(Short answer) How does Cara eventually get inside Fernando’s apartment after he moves out and refuses to see her?
(Multiple choice) In Session Eight, Cara confesses the accident that drove Fernando away permanently. What was it?
- A) She accidentally burned his hand with a hot iron while pressing clothes.
- B) She threw an iron at the door and it hit Fernando in the face.
- C) She pushed him down a flight of stairs.
- D) She broke his arm when trying to drag him away from his friends.
(Short answer) What does Lulú do with her faja after learning that her son Adonis lost his job a year ago and hid it?
(Multiple choice) At the end of Session Twelve, what recommendation does the counselor make regarding Cara’s benefits?
- A) They are terminated immediately.
- B) She is approved for a one-time grant to start her day care.
- C) She receives a recommendation for an extension of twelve more sessions.
- D) She is referred to a different job-training program.
(Short answer) Two months after her last session, Cara discovers a surprise from her son Fernando on Mother’s Day. What is it?

Character Motivation Questions (5)

(Multiple choice) Why does Cara refuse to tell anyone about her cyst removal surgery and instead checks herself out of the hospital alone?
- A) She wants to avoid medical bills.
- B) She does not want to bother or worry other people with her problems.
- C) She is angry at her sister for not offering to help.
- D) The hospital staff refused to release her, so she had to escape.
(Short answer) Why does Cara hesitate when her friend Lulú wants to sign repair papers for a ceiling leak? What does Cara insist on?
(Multiple choice) Ángela accuses Cara of being “like Mamá” after seeing how Cara handled her nephew Julio. What does Ángela mean?
- A) Cara is too generous and spoils the children.
- B) Cara is cold, critical, and controlling like their abusive mother.
- C) Cara never visits and ignores her family obligations.
- D) Cara prioritizes her own needs above the children’s.
(Short answer) Why does Cara agree to stay away from her son Fernando after meeting Alexis at the Bronx apartment?
(Multiple choice) Cara sends money to Alicia the Psychic for a ritual even though she knows Lulú thinks it is a scam. What motivates her?
- A) She is desperate for a job and believes the psychic can help.
- B) She trusts the psychic’s visions because she wants a positive change and sees partial confirmations.
- C) She feels guilty for not helping her friend Ángela.
- D) The psychic threatens to curse her if she does not pay.

Theme and Symbol Questions (4)

(Multiple choice) What does the building’s lobby camera (Channel 15) symbolize in the novel?
- A) The power of modern technology to bring the community together.
- B) Surveillance and the loss of community space in a gentrifying neighborhood.
- C) Cara’s obsession with spying on her neighbors.
- D) The unreliability of memory in Cara’s storytelling.
(Short answer) The act of “desahogar” (undrowning) is a recurring concept. In the story, what does “desahogar” primarily represent?
(Multiple choice) Which object best symbolizes intergenerational trauma and the cycle of abuse in Cara’s family?
- A) The chancleta (slipper) that Cara uses for discipline.
- B) La Vieja Caridad’s will.
- C) The painting of the boy and the tree.
- D) The stroller in Cara’s dream.
(Short answer) What does Cara’s inherited dog, Fidel, come to symbolize by the end of the novel?

Synthesis Questions (3)

(Short answer) Compare how Cara and Lulú each respond to financial hardship and caregiving responsibilities. How are their strategies similar or different?
(Multiple choice) Which statement best reflects the novel’s overall message about institutions (schools, hospitals, courts, banks)?
- A) Institutions are generally fair but require persistence to navigate.
- B) Institutions are designed to help immigrants succeed if they follow the rules.
- C) Institutions are often unreliable, invasive, or hostile, yet people can still find ways to survive within and around them.
- D) Only by rejecting all institutions can a person achieve true freedom.
(Short answer) At the end of the book, Cara affirms that she remains “entera.” What does this self-affirmation mean in the context of her journey through the ten counseling sessions?

Answer Key

B. In Session One, Cara explains she lost her factory job in 2007 and her unemployment is about to run out, which is why she attends the program. (Outline Session One)
Ricardo, her husband, cut off her lover Cristián’s leg with a machete. Cara recounts this in Session One as the reason she fled the Dominican Republic with Fernando. (Outline Session One)
B. Cara pushed Fernando to prevent him from going outside, causing him to hit his head on the wall. He showed the bump to a teacher, leading to an abuse investigation. (Outline Session Two; evidence chapter 2)
Alexis (the flamboyant man in Fernando’s apartment) lets her in after she refuses to leave. In Session Three, Cara pushes her foot into the door, and Alexis eventually invites her inside to give her a tissue. (Outline Session Three)
B. In Session Eight, Cara admits she threw an iron at the door and it hit Fernando in the face. He left home after that and never returned. (Outline Session Eight; evidence chapter 8)
She throws it out the window. In Session Six, after learning about Adonis’s deception, Lulú takes off her faja and throws it out the window, then drinks wine. (Outline Session Six)
C. In Session Twelve, the counselor’s report recommends an extension of benefits for twelve more sessions. (Outline Session Twelve)
A takeout delivery with a note. Cara finds that Fernando sent a Mother’s Day takeout delivery, which she sees as a sign of possible reconciliation. (Outline “Two Months Later”)
B. Cara explains she does not want to bother people with her problems. She tells the counselor she would rather die than ask for help. (Outline Session Two; evidence chapter 2)
Cara insists that Lulú not sign the papers without a lawyer present. In Session Five, Cara refuses to let Lulú sign repair documents without legal advice, reflecting her distrust of institutions. (Outline Session Five)
B. In Session Eight and Ten, Ángela tells Cara she is always insulting and critical, and that Cara cannot help herself from being like their abusive mother. (Outline Session Eight; evidence chapter 10)
Alexis tells her that Fernando does not want to see her, and Cara reluctantly agrees to stay away. In Session Three, Cara puts Fernando’s name on the lease and sends food but respects the boundary. (Outline Session Three)
B. Cara trusts the psychic because she wants a fortune and later interprets small events (holding money, the dinner table) as partial confirmations of the visions. (Outline Session Ten; evidence chapter 10)
B. In Session Two, Cara explains that the camera monitors the lobby, and that gentrification has made it impossible for longtime residents to sit outside. Channel 15 represents both surveillance and the loss of public community space. (Outline Session Two; evidence chapter 2)
It represents emotional release and unburdening, often through talking, crying, or connecting with others. For example, Ángela “desahogó” in front of everyone after she and Cara reconcile. (Outline Session Ten)
A. The chancleta is the slipper Cara (and her mother) used for discipline, symbolizing the repetition of harsh parenting across generations. (Outline Session Eight; evidence chapter 10)
Loyalty, connection, and continuity. Fidel is inherited from La Vieja Caridad and becomes a companion, representing that care and bonds persist after loss. (Outline “Two Months Later”)
Both women hide their struggles and avoid asking for direct help. Cara manages her finances by taking loans from Ángela and selling cakes, while Lulú moves in with Cara and contributes rent through Patricia. Their caregiving for others often comes before their own needs. (Outline Session Two and Two Months Later)
C. Throughout the novel, institutions like the hospital, the school system, the unemployment office, and the housing court are portrayed as barriers or sources of stress, yet Cara finds small ways to work around them and still asserts her dignity. (Outline themes throughout)
“Entera” means whole or complete, and Cara uses it to assert that despite all her losses (job, son, neighbor), and the difficulty of the sessions, she remains intact and resilient. This reflects her refusal to be destroyed by systemic hardship or personal pain. (Outline “Two Months Later,” trusting intuition)

For more discussion, see the ending explained or browse questions and answers. Return to the main book page.