View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What was Laura doing in the car with Robbie Burton when they were killed?

2. Who do Mr. Town and Mr. Road interrogate about Shadow in Chapter 9?

3. What other supernatural figure is at the House of the Rock besides Wednesday and Mr. Nancy?

4. Why is Essie Tregowen sent to America instead of being hanged in Chapter 4?

5. What does Audrey Burton do at Laura Moon's funeral that surprises Shadow?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why is Shadow put off by Mr. Wednesday?

2. Why does Shadow leave Lakeside in Chapter 10?

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

4. Who do Shadow and Wednesday meet in Chicago?

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

6. How were the dead judged in ancient Egypt?

7. What is the purpose of the checkers game in Chapter 4?

8. What service does the jinn perform for Salim in Chapter 7?

9. How does Shadow enter the realm of the gods at the end of Chapter 5?

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Neil Gaiman's AMERICAN GODS posits a world in which the gods of all cultures that have crossed the pond to America live among us and with knowledge of each other. Simultaneously, these gods are in competition with new gods comprised of secular aspects of daily life that we as a culture worship. Write an essay laying out the rules by which these gods live. From what do they draw their power? How do they carry on their divine work in the modern era? What do they fear? What do they yearn for? How, in the end, can a god be killed?

Essay Topic 2

AMERICAN GODS takes place in all of America simultaneously, but much of its action is focused on the small town of Lakeside. This town is, in essence, the novel's main setting. Write an essay profiling the setting of Lakeside, focusing on three character residents and their relationship to the town. What is each resident's function in the town? Is this resident harboring a secret of some sort? Is he or she living with some pain, desire, or inner demon? How does this character react to Shadow's arrival in Lakeside?

Essay Topic 3

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?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,139 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample