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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. From where did Sweeney produce the gold coins he plucked from the air earlier in the book?

2. What do Mr. Ibis and Mr. Jacquel do for a living?

3. Why does Salim jostle the cab driver in Chapter 7?

4. Where does Shadow first meet Alison in Chapter 9?

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

Short Essay Questions

1. How do Shadow and Mad Sweeney interact during their night of drinking?

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

3. Why is Shadow Moon released early from prison in Chapter 1?

4. Who do Shadow and Wednesday meet in Chicago?

5. How does Essie Tregowen make her way to America in Chapter 4?

6. Why does Shadow leave Lakeside in Chapter 10?

7. How were the dead judged in ancient Egypt?

8. What deal does Shadow strike in his Chapter 9 dream?

9. What is Wednesday's plan to get money from the bank?

10. Describe Shadow's dream in Chapter 8.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The belief systems that Neil Gaiman dramatically explores over the course of his novel existed before the sexual was painted as sinful. As such, many of the modern interactions with gods are of a distinctly sexual nature. Write an essay about sex as a divine act in American Gods, focusing on three instances. Part 1) Bilquis is introduced to the reader as a prostitute in Los Angeles. What odd occurrence happens when she picks up a john in this early passage? What does this occurrence say about the nature of sexuality in that belief system? Should it be feared? Is it a passage to complete immersion into the divine?

Part 2) What is the role of the sexual in the passage involving the jinn? How does his encounter with Slim the salesman end in a religious experience? Do you as a reader consider this experience to be essentially positive or negative? How does sexuality bond this spirit and this man completely and in a transformative way?

Part 3) Describe the one distinctly sexual dream that Shadow has over the course of the novel. Who does it involve? How does Shadow decide to make love to this individual? What occurs in Shadow's waking life that intimates to him that this was more than a mere dream?

Essay Topic 2

Coins play an important role in the novel. They are more than merely metal indicators of monetary value: they are powerful symbols. Write an essay about coins as a symbol in the novel, focusing on their value to three characters. What function do they serve beyond their monetary significance? Do they offer strength? Protection? Some other strange power? What happens when they are given or lost?

Part 1) Shadow Moon

Part 2) Mad Sweeney

Part 3) Zorya Polunochnyaya

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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