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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. How does Shadow get the secret of Mad Sweeney's coin trick?

2. How many days before the end of his sentence is Shadow released because of his wife's death?

3. What object does Shadow toss into Laura's grave at the end of the chapter?

4. What game do Shadow and Czernobog play to decide whether the latter will join Wednesday's campaign?

5. What warning does the voice in Shadow's dream make about the old gods?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

3. Describe Mr. Wednesday.

4. What is the full story surrounding Laura Moon's death?

5. How were the dead judged in ancient Egypt?

6. What offer do Ibis and Jacquel make to Shadow in Chapter 8?

7. Describe Shadow's dream in Chapter 8.

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

9. What is Shadow Moon's role in Wednesday's scam?

10. What new threat does Wednesday discuss with the old gods in Chapter 6?

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)

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