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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. Which tribe's myth forms the basis of this story?

2. What made Grey's great-grandmother, Kope'mah, into a medicine woman?

3. What happened after the strange boy appeared and disappeared?

4. How old is Grey?

5. Who is Cate?

Short Essay Questions

1. At the Mottledmares', Set has a dream that he is deprived of a power that seems to him important. What does he dream he cannot do?

2. Set is taught in school that art is resistance. But he doesn't believe it. How does Set define art?

3. How does Grey feel about her appearance?

4. What does Grey want her grandmother to tell her about Set?

5. Why does Murphy Dicks feel ashamed when he talks to Grey?

6. What do masks represent to Grey as she makes them?

7. What is the purpose that Grey must serve in this chapter, although she is weary and hurt? What would she rather do?

8. What was Set's first real notion of the infinite?

9. Why did Kope'mah experience loneliness as a medicine woman?

10. Who first let Grey know that the bear was coming into her life?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Names play an important role in this story. Describe the significance of names in this story, paying particular attention to the unnamed boy and Grey's bestowal of names on herself and Dog. Use quotations from the book to support your idea.

Essay Topic 2

Both Set and Grey come from more than one ancestral background. Discuss the similarities and differences between the families of each. Use direct quotations and examples from the story to support each point.

Essay Topic 3

Discuss Momaday's use of time. For example, many Native American customs cause the reader to think of the past, but that thought will be jarred by the mention of a modern actor, car, or TV program. What point do you think the author is trying to make by using time in such fluid ways?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 745 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample