View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. In what manner does Ayah conduct herself in the bar?

2. As Ayah learned the rhythm of her pains while in labor with Jimmie, what did she smell outside the stone hogan?

3. According to Ayah's memory, what would have happened to her if she entered the bar years ago?

4. What does Ayah remember happening to Jimmie?

5. According to Ayah, what keeps her people connected to the land?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is the significance of Ayah's shoes as analogy of the power of time and the progression of one culture overtaking another?

2. Why did Ayah feel relieved that the wine and the government money were gone?

3. What does Ayah recognize about Chato's drinking?

4. What does the description of the place where Ayah, Chato and the children live on the white man's ranch reveal about their living conditions?

5. How did Ayah find peace in the fear stained air of Azzie's Bar?

6. What does Ayah's walk back to the bar symbolize?

7. Why did Ayah no longer feel cold after remembering weaving and her traditional clothing?

8. Why is it important for Ayah to remember that her mother's blankets are soft and woven so tight that rain rolls off of them?

9. When Ayah openly accuses the whites of lying, why does Chato's words, "It's too late now", symbolic of the white and Native American relationships of the past?

10. Ayah states she is frightened by how the doctors look at the children, like lizards watching flies. Why does this metaphor drive home the predator and prey motif?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Ayah states that the Navajo elders advise against learning the white man's language or his ways for it endangers them. How does Ayah's life story of tragedy at the hands of white prove the validity of this statement? In what ways does Chato embody that danger the elders warn about? Use the text to support your answer.

Essay Topic 2

In the opening scene of the story, Ayah is aware of nature's surroundings. How does Silko set up the tone of the rest of the story? What is the symbolic importance of the sun, snow, and nature and its relationship to Ayah at the onset of the story? Use the text to support your answer.

Essay Topic 3

Ayah feels that she doesn't know Chato, that they become strangers. In what ways does the theme of alienation play out in the story? Use fact details from the text to support your answer.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,170 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample