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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. What is mentioned as a WPA project?

2. What is the name of Jimmy's restaurant?

3. How do the characters in the first paragraph of "The Branch" travel?

4. Who moves south in chapter 4?

5. Where do Sita's kidnappers leave her?

Short Essay Questions

1. In chapter 7, why does Wallace Pfef want to see Mary?

2. Describe Sita's experience in Minneapolis in chapter 5.

3. Describe Fleur Pillager, her possessions, and her job.

4. Describe Argus, as pictured in "The Branch."

5. How does The Air Seeder work?

6. Why does Adelaide run to the airplane in chapter 1? How does this decision affect the children?

7. In "The Branch," why do the children come to Argus?

8. How does Sita feel when Pete gives Mary the cow's diamond? Why?

9. Explain the relationship between Mr. Ober and Mary's family, as well as the effects his death has on them.

10. Why does Mary give Sita the sewing machine in chapter 7?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Compare and contrast Erdrich's sense of plot and narration in the following two scenes: when Mary has her accident in the ice and when Russell Kashpaw lights his menu on fire.

Essay Topic 2

Describe Mrs. Waldvogel in as much detail as possible and discuss her importance in Sita's life.

Essay Topic 3

How does the author's use of flashbacks throughout the novel fill in the reader's sense of the characters' history? Choose one character and discuss his or her life prior to the novel, as expressed in flashbacks, and then explain how this method of conveying history is helpful or unhelpful to the reader.

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