Mystery Train: Images of America in Rock 'n' Roll Music Short Essay Assignments

Short Essay Questions

The 60 short essay questions listed in this section require a one to two sentence answer. They ask students to demonstrate a deeper understanding of the text. Students must describe what they've read, rather than just recall it.

Short Essay Question - Prologue

1. How does Greil Marcus define "artist" in the prologue?

2. Describe the example of an artist that Greil Marcus uses in the prologue. Who is an artist and why? Why are the other people in the example not artists?

3. According to the prologue, what is Greil Marcus' purpose in writing Mystery Train?

4. In the prologue, what four artists does Marcus say he will write about and why these performers?

5. Who are Harmonica Frank and Robert Johnson? Why are they included in the book?