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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. Why had Josie, Rob, and Dolan all gone out to the springhouse the night before it was raided?

2. Which winter was a terribly brutal one in Amargo?

3. What does Merrion Crace bring as a gift to Toby?

4. What tribe does the person who visits Nora shortly after Evelyn is born belong to?

5. What bleak outpost does Lurie reminisce to Burke about them staying at one Christmas Eve?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Lurie feel after telling the writer much of his life story in Part IV?

2. In Part III, how does Mico die?

3. Who does Duena Maria lead Lurie and Burke to, almost impossibly?

4. What is the problem that drives Gabriela and Lurie apart in Part IV?

5. In Part III, what does Nora overhear her husband telling her two older sons that hurts her feelings?

6. What does the doctor who tends to Burke offer Lurie for Burke in Part IV?

7. What does Marshal John Berger tell Lurie when he finally catches up with him in Part IV?

8. In Part IV, why does Nora feel guilty for having taken so long to go look for Josie?

9. In Part IV, what is a particularly low point for Lurie and Burke?

10. Why does Nora begin to worry about the old Indian woman after she does not return for days on end in Part III?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write an essay analyzing Nora's misgivings about Josie Kincaid, and explain why she treats Josie the way she does throughout the novel. How and when does Nora's attitude and treatment of Josie begin to change significantly?

Essay Topic 2

In the section titled Afternoon, how does Lurie feel when Marshal John Berger finally catches up with him? What seems to surprise both Lurie and Berger about their meeting face-to-face after so much time has passed since their last meeting? Write an essay explaining your answers, citing specific references to the text to support your conclusions.

Essay Topic 3

Write an essay analyzing the symbolism of the stereoscope that Merrion Crace gives to Toby in the section titled Evening. What is the significance of this gift to a young boy whose family has languished in the desert for many years?

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This section contains 726 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample