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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. By what does slang term does Sally call Maria when she tells Peter she is coming to visit in Chapter Fifty-one?

2. What food do the Comanches believe makes a person into a coward, according to Eli in Chapter Thirty-one?

3. Who is Jeanne’s business partner that has moved into Hank’s office in Chapter Forty-seven?

4. How much money does the narrator says Sullivan and Rodriguez make in a year together in Chapter Thirty-five?

5. What is the name of the gun salesman that Eli’s company encounters during their raid in Chapter Fifty-two?

Short Essay Questions

1. What irony can be seen in Prairie Flower’s death in Chapter Twenty-eight?

2. Discuss Jeanne’s relationship with motherhood, as seen in Chapter Thirty-eight. Does Jeanne enjoy being a mother?

3. How does Peter respond to Maria’s presence and her need for help in Chapter Thirty?

4. What are Jeanne’s perceptions of the “Honey Hunt” she attends in Chapter Fifty-three?

5. How does Eli help the captive buffalo hunter in Chapter Twenty-five?

6. Where is Eli working in 1864? How is his home described in Chapter Forty-nine?

7. How is the character of Ulises Garcia introduced in Chapter Fifty-seven? What is Ulises’s objective?

8. How does the relationship between Eli and Ellen develop in Chapters Thirty-three through Thirty-seven?

9. What circumstances lead to Peter’s isolation on the ranch in Chapter Twenty-four?

10. Describe Eli’s narrative tone in Chapter Forty. What are examples of humor used in the chapter?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss the author’s historical depictions of the Indian raids in Texas in the 1840s. How frequently were homes attacked in the settlements that bordered on or crossed into Indian Territory? How did these raids impact Indian/Settler relations? How accurate are the author’s depictions of this era and the surrounding circumstances of both the settlers and the Native Americans?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the theme of “imparting a personal legacy” in The Son. What advice does the Colonel give to Jeanne McCullough regarding her own personal legacy and the importance of putting one’s name on something? Do you think that this is sound advice? Why or why not? How is this theme illustrated through imagery and characters in the novel?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the theme of “history versus reality” in The Son. How reliable are the narrators of the story? Do you believe that each of the narrators is relating direct truth? Why or why not? How does “history” from the books differ from the realities of the past? How are these differences highlighted in the novel?

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