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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 is Abel's brother, who died many years before the start of the story?

2. To find his grandmother's grave, Tosamah has to walk along the path of the _______________.

3. What does the old man examine when he comes to a stop during his drive of his team of mares?

4. Tosamah's grandmother's grave lays at the ________ of the Rainy Mountain.

5. When Abel is 17, Francisco gets him to go hunting and the first animal he kills is a ______________.

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Abel do when he sees the bird in the sack after it has been captured?

2. What happened between Abel and the daughter of Medina in January of 1937?

3. As Abel stares out into the silent valley, what is the memory he recalls having shared with Vidal?

4. Why didn't Abel go to see his grandfather's house on the third day after his arrival?

5. Describe the character of Nicolas teach-whau - who was this women to Abel in this story?

6. What caused Francisco to be afraid during the birth of his child, which then caused his girlfriend to leave him?

7. Who did Ben think never left Abel alone during the two months that he and Abel were friends and things were going well for Abel?

8. What were some of the things the sun could teach the grandsons about, according to Francisco?

9. What surrounded Francisco in his camp when he was riding out as a young man?

10. Describe the relationship Francisco had with a young girl when he was a younger man.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The scene in which Abel kills the albino seems to be a striking and yet understandable scene.

Part 1: Why do you think Abel decided to kill the albino?

Part 2: How do you think Abel felt about killing the albino?

Part 3: What is the potential symbolism of this scene? What might it represent in terms of race relations, for example?

Essay Topic 2

While it's never implicitly stated, Martinez obviously has a problem with Native Americans.

Part 1: List at least three examples of how Martinez displays his problem with Native Americans.

Part 2: Why do you think Momaday doesn't seem to create a more intense character of Martinez? Wouldn't it be easier to show Martinez as a prejudiced jerk?

Part 3: What does Martinez bring to the novel? What does his presence create in the book?

Essay Topic 3

The initial opening with the trap that did not catch what it was intended to catch seems to be symbolic for the rest of the manuscript.

Part 1: In what way is Abel trapped in this story? Could he have avoided his trap?

Part 2: What other characters might be seen as trapped? Why?

Part 3: What might the symbolic dead body floating down the stream refer to in the story? Who also has been let go? Why?

(see the answer keys)

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