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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 the name of the television show that Greil Marcus uses as an example in the Prologue?
2. What does Marcus think the performers discussed in the Prologue have in common?
3. Who sang "Fool about mah money/don't try to save"?
4. What is the name of The Band's third album?
5. In the section "Even Stranger Blues," to what does Marcus compare Robbie's guitar sound?
Short Essay Questions
1. Just before "The Righteous Land," Marcus quotes from "We Can Talk About It Now." The storyteller in the song tells "there's no need to slave. The whip . . . is in the grave" (53). What type of imagery does this line have and what does it mean?
2. According to Marcus in "The Band," how are Harmonica Frank and Robert Johnson relevant to The Band?
3. According to Marcus in the introduction to "The Band," what message did The Band send to its audience?
4. Describe Harmonica Frank. What did he do? What did he look like? What made him unique?
5. In "The Band," why do the other members of the Band become known as Robbie Robertson's foil?
6. In the prologue, what four artists does Marcus say he will write about and why these performers?
7. According to Marcus in "The Band," why is the story of Virgil Cane in "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down" appealing to all Americans?
8. According to Marcus in "Robert Johnson -1938," how are Robert Johnson's songs relevant even today? What artist's keep his spirit and music alive?
9. What type of music was Sam Phillips attempting to find and why?
10. Who is Marcus' audience for Mystery Train and how do you know?
Essay Topics
Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:
Essay Topic 1
Greil Marcus uses Huck Finn and Captain Ahab as literary allusions throughout Mystery Train. In an essay identify which artists most closely resemble Huck and/or which resemble Captain Ahab. Give details to support your assertions.
Essay Topic 2
Write an essay analyzing the images used in one or two of Robert Johnson's songs. What emotions do they convey? What meaning can be derived from his choice of words?
Essay Topic 3
The Great Divide is a strong image used by the band and one that merited discussion by Greil Marcus in "The Band." In an essay examine why the Band would be drawn to this image. How is it metaphoric? What does it mean? How is it American?
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This section contains 1,398 words (approx. 5 pages at 300 words per page) |
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