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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 was the name of Joe Leaphorn’s wife that died ten years ago, according to Bernie in Chapter 1?

2. When the office manager from the Shiprock station calls Bernie back in Chapter 7, the address that she’s found for the “AL” listing is a residence in what city?

3. Who is at Leaphorn’s house looking at his computer and files when Bernie arrives there to check for Louisa again in Chapter 4?

4. Who is the grounds-man that greets Bernie in a traditional Navajo greeting at AIRC in Chapter 7?

5. Who does Chee say found Leaphorn’s cat in Chapter 8?

Short Essay Questions

1. What information does Bernie learn from the office manager at the police station in Chapter 7?

2. What does Agent Cordova relate when he calls Bernie in Chapter 9? How does Chee respond?

3. What does Bernie learn from Joe Leaphorn’s neurologist in Chapter 6?

4. Why do Chee and Bernie go to Bashas’ grocery store in Chapter 3? What do they discover when they arrive?

5. What does Bernie discover when she arrives at her mother’s house in Chapter 4?

6. What does Bernie find when she arrives at Joe Leaphorn’s home in Chapter 2?

7. Why does Chee stop at Earl’s Restaurant in Chapter 10? What does Chee do there?

8. What possible leads to Bernie and Chee find when they examine Leaphorn’s old files in Chapter 5?

9. What does Mrs. Benally tell Bernie about her use of the car in Chapter 3?

10. What is the last action on the case that Largo asks of Bernie in Chapter 2?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Describe the setting of Window Rock, Arizona and its relation to the greater Navajo Nation. How large is the city of Window Rock? How large is the Navajo Nation? How does the narrator describe the setting of Window Rock in the novel?

Essay Topic 2

Culture and Tradition in Spider Woman’s Daughter

a. Discuss the ways that Navajo culture differs from white culture as seen in the novel. How do Bernie and Chee and the other Navajo characters view white and white traditions?

b. How do the themes of culture and tradition apply to the Anasazi pottery and the Navajo rugs that are illustrated throughout the novel?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the themes of tradition and culture in Spider Woman’s Daughter. How is tradition perceived by Bernie and Chee and others within the Navajo Nation? How does Darleen differ in her views of tradition and culture? In what ways do the traditions and cultures of the Navajos clash with those of the whites in the story?

(see the answer keys)

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