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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 warning does the Buffalo Man give Shadow at the end of his Chapter 9?

2. How many daughters does Czernobog have?

3. In what city is Shadow's plane forced to land because of weather in Chapter 1?

4. What does Shadow Moon do to keep himself calm in his cell?

5. What do Mad Sweeney and Shadow trade in Chapter 2?

Short Essay Questions

1. How are Mr. Road and Mr. Town introduced in Chapter 9?

2. Describe Shadow's temptation by Media.

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

4. How does Mad Sweeney figure into the plot in Chapter 8?

5. How does Shadow become acquainted with Lakeside?

6. Who are Mr. Ibis and Mr. Jacquel?

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

8. Who do Shadow and Wednesday meet in Chicago?

9. How does Shadow escape captivity at the end of Chapter 6?

10. Describe Shadow's dream in Chapter 8.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Neil Gaiman chooses to begin each of his chapters with an epigram of some sort. These quotes run the gamut from the scholarly to the pop-cultural. Write an essay about three of these epigrams. What is the quotes relationship to the events of its associated chapter? What about the novel as a whole? How does this quote connect to some central theme of the novel? Lastly, what connection does the source of the quote have to America as a spiritual place?

Essay Topic 2

The premise of Neil Gaiman's novel is founded on the notion that the gods whose belief systems came to America with immigrant peoples have lived in some human form in America of centuries. As such, Gaiman is tasked with the duty of creating a human character that represents something essential about each god. Write an essay on the personification of the intangible, focusing on three belief systems:

Part 1) Czernobog and his three daughters are a Russian family living in Chicago. What belief system do these four characters represent? What duties do they perform, and how are these duties manifest in a modern America? As modern characters, how have the traditional duties of these gods adapted to a new era?

Part 2) Mr. Nancy is clearly intended to represent the African god Anansi. Describe Mr. Nancy, both his physical appearance and the occupation he has in modern America. How does this coalesce with his role as the African trickster god? When Shadow enters the realm of the gods, how does Mr. Nancy's appearance change to reflect Anansi's true form?

Part 3) Ibis and Jacquel represent two Egyptian gods in the novel. List every aspect of their personalities that links them with this. When Shadow undergoes his passage into death, how do Jacquel and Ibis play an integral role?

Essay Topic 3

Laura Moon is perhaps the strangest and most ambiguous of characters in AMERICAN GODS. The reader is introduced to her as an adulteress and a corpse. Write an essay about her as a character. What reason does she give for her infidelity? How does death affect the way that she interacts with the living, particularly Shadow? At what point in the novel does Laura decide to take action to help Shadow? How does this affect the reader's attitude toward her?

(see the answer keys)

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