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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. In what city do Shadow and Wednesday meet the Zorya sisters in Chapter 4?

2. In Chapter 8, Ibis tell Shadow that the dead in ancient Egypt would be fed to Ammet the soul-eater if their sins outweighed what?

3. Why does Mad Sweeney want his coin back in Chapter 8?

4. What does Shadow Moon overhear his kidnappers saying about the old gods as he's being taken away?

5. According to Wednesday, how did the other old gods escape Mr. Wood and Mr. Stone at the restaurant?

Short Essay Questions

1. What deal does Shadow strike in his Chapter 9 dream?

2. What service does the jinn perform for Salim in Chapter 7?

3. What is Mama-ji's argument against fighting the new gods?

4. How are Mr. Road and Mr. Town introduced in Chapter 9?

5. How were the dead judged in ancient Egypt?

6. Describe Shadow Moon's dream in Chapter 3.

7. Why is Shadow put off by Mr. Wednesday?

8. What does Zorya Polunochnyaya give Shadow Moon in Chapter 4?

9. How does Wednesday explain to Shadow what happened at the restaurant after the summit at Odin's Hall?

10. How does Shadow enter the realm of the gods at the end of Chapter 5?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Coins play an important role in the novel. They are more than merely metal indicators of monetary value: they are powerful symbols. Write an essay about coins as a symbol in the novel, focusing on their value to three characters. What function do they serve beyond their monetary significance? Do they offer strength? Protection? Some other strange power? What happens when they are given or lost?

Part 1) Shadow Moon

Part 2) Mad Sweeney

Part 3) Zorya Polunochnyaya

Essay Topic 2

Neil Gaiman's AMERICAN GODS posits a world in which the gods of all cultures that have crossed the pond to America live among us and with knowledge of each other. Simultaneously, these gods are in competition with new gods comprised of secular aspects of daily life that we as a culture worship. Write an essay laying out the rules by which these gods live. From what do they draw their power? How do they carry on their divine work in the modern era? What do they fear? What do they yearn for? How, in the end, can a god be killed?

Essay Topic 3

The plot of Gaiman's novel can be viewed as an epic amalgamation of many cultures in the arena of one country. On the other hand, the novel can be viewed as a very personal story about one man's journey out of despair. Write an essay chronicling Shadow Moon's character arc. How is he denied any objective by circumstance at the outset of the story? Why does he join Wednesday's campaign, and over the course of it, why does he choose not to commit suicide? By the end of the novel, has Shadow reached some state of new contentment?

(see the answer keys)

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