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. What does Shadow realize is missing from the Zorya household when he wakes up?

2. What does Czernobog do for a living?

3. In what century does the Viking storyline from Chapter 3 take place?

4. What does Mama-ji suggest the old gods do in the face of the new ones?

5. Why is Essie Tregowen sent to America instead of being hanged in Chapter 4?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Shadow become acquainted with Lakeside?

2. Describe Shadow's temptation by Media.

3. What unexpected incident occurs to Shadow Moon after the funeral in Chapter 2?

4. How were the dead judged in ancient Egypt?

5. Describe Shadow Moon's dream in Chapter 3.

6. How does Shadow deal with the approach of police on the scam in Chapter 5?

7. Who do Shadow and Wednesday meet in Chicago?

8. How is does Laura Moon find her way to Shadow's hotel in Chapter 3?

9. How does Shadow enter the realm of the gods at the end of Chapter 5?

10. How is Audrey Burton's behavior at Laura Moon's funeral surprising to Shadow?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The mythos created by Neil Gaiman includes a backstage world, one that exists concurrent with our own. Write an essay about his world, examining its connection to humanity. How does it appear in relation our mortal existence? How do the old gods look in this backstage world? What about human beings? How are they affected by this backstage world? Is the backstage connected in any way with the afterlife?

Essay Topic 2

In many respects, the main character of Neil Gaiman's novel is America. In his understanding, the "melting pot" is a profoundly spiritual place because it has embraced so many different spirits. Write an essay on the topic of the novel as a treatise celebrating America's spiritual past. What faiths does the narrative encompass? What value does it assign each? Is one more important than the others? Do you think that Gaiman, a Brit, presents a largely positive or negative picture of America in AMERICAN GODS? Why or why not?

Essay Topic 3

AMERICAN GODS represents a fusion of ancient gravitas - the gods - and modern day kitsch - their place in America. Write an essay about the marriage of these two disparate existences: the divine and the modern. To do this, choose three locations in the novel that have both cultural significance in America and divine significance in Gaiman's mythos. What is this significance? How do the characters find themselves in these places, and what divine realities do they uncover there? How does this typify the marriage of divine and kitsch?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,048 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample