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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 kills the technology god?

2. Why does Atsula die before reaching America with her tribe?

3. What merciful occurrence happens at the end of the first day of Shadow's vigil?

4. In Chapter 16, what does Zorya Polunochnyaya turn Shadow's coin into?

5. From what period is the Lakeside book of minutes that Shadow purchases in Chapter 11?

Short Essay Questions

1. What connection forms between Wututu and Agasu when they are taken to America?

2. How does the war begin in Chapter 12?

3. What is backstage?

4. What transformation does Laura Moon undergo in Chapter 17?

5. Why have children been disappearing for years in Lakewood?

6. What does Shadow experience on the tree on the first day of the vigil?

7. Why does Easter not want to join Wednesday's campaign, and how does he convince he to?

8. What is the nature of Wednesday's vigil?

9. How does Laura Moon kill Mr. World in Chapter 18?

10. What do Mr. Nancy and Shadow do in Chapter 19?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

In AMERICAN GODS, death is not necessarily an end. Because the plot deals in the eternal and the divine, characters die and then return to life for various reasons. Write an essay about death in AMERICAN GODS, focusing on three characters who pass back and forth between life and death. How does each character die? Does he or she choose death? If so, why? What brings each character back from death, and are they changed in some way?

Part 1) Laura Moon

Part 2) Wednesday

Part 3) Shadow Moon

Essay Topic 2

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?

Essay Topic 3

Shadow Moon has two relationships that are juxtaposed in the novel: one with Wednesday and one with Laura Moon. Write an essay about this juxtaposition. Of which relationship is Shadow inherently more wary? Which one does he pursue with more commitment? How does each relationship contain a major betrayal? In the end, is Shadow stronger for his weathering both of these unhealthy relationships?

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