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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. Who wakes Shadow from his sleep at the very end of Chapter 8?

2. Where does the resurrected Laura Moon first appear to Shadow in Chapter 3?

3. Who appears in Shadow's dream in Chapter 8?

4. How does the waitress in Chapter 9 react to Wednesday's hitting on her?

5. What warning does the Buffalo Man give Shadow at the end of his Chapter 9?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Shadow escape captivity at the end of Chapter 6?

2. How is Odin martyred?

3. How do Shadow and Mad Sweeney interact during their night of drinking?

4. Who do Shadow and Wednesday meet in Chicago?

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

6. How does Mr. Nancy look in the realm of the gods?

7. How is Audrey Burton's behavior at Laura Moon's funeral surprising to Shadow?

8. Describe Mr. Wednesday.

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

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

AMERICAN GODS represents a fusion of ancient gravitas - the gods - and modern day kitsch - their place in America. Write an essay about the marriage of these two disparate existences: the divine and the modern. To do this, choose three locations in the novel that have both cultural significance in America and divine significance in Gaiman's mythos. What is this significance? How do the characters find themselves in these places, and what divine realities do they uncover there? How does this typify the marriage of divine and kitsch?

Essay Topic 2

AMERICAN GODS is riddled with references to tricks and scams. These tricks - from grifts, to coin illusions, to an essential scam at the heart of the plot - reflect the untrustworthy nature of the old world gods. Write an essay about these scams, in three parts:

Part 1) Wednesday is a man of illusions and scams; he represents untruth. Write a paragraph about his various schemes, citing specific examples. Why does he scam others? What does he gain over the course of the novel? How does this connect with his true persona of Odin?

Part 2) What is the essential scam of AMERICAN GODS? What is the purpose of all the hardship and killing? Write a paragraph about the truth behind the lies spun in the name of a great battle. Contrast this truth with the reasons the more honest characters have chosen to fight.

Part 3) Write a summation paragraph dealing with the notion of the trickster god. Which trickster gods are represented in the novel, and who do they trick? To what extent are the the new gods less devious than the old ones?

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?

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