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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. Why does Lola Bourne find it easy to relinquish Set to Grey?

2. What happens in California while Set is in Paris?

3. What brings Set the greatest happiness he has known?

4. What increases the bond between Set and Grey?

5. What does Dr. Terriman say about Lola Bourne''s ability to help Set?

Short Essay Questions

1. Who is the boy that Set sees and hears in the garden of his old house?

2. Why does Set enter his old house with dread?

3. How does Set respond to the hospital staff's diagnosis and explanations of his condition?

4. Why does Grey feel at once humbled and important when she thinks of Set?

5. As Grey changes from a girl to a woman, how does Set's attitude toward her change?

6. Why does Dr. Merriman's knowledge of folklore, witchcraft, and medical mythology fail to impress Set?

7. How does Grey feel about herself during her pregnancy?

8. Why were the Piegan people unable to believe in the child?

9. For what does Grey thank Lola Bourne?

10. How does Set's art change as his personality begins to disintegrate?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Momaday is a poet as well as a novelist, and many of the passages in this story are poetic. What makes poetry? Select three or four passages that you believe show characteristics of poetry and tell why you think so in each case.

Essay Topic 2

Every author has a philosophical basis as well as a cultural one for the stories that he chooses to tell. Based on this story, examine what you think are Momaday's deeply-held beliefs about what is important in life. Justify your opinion with quotations and examples from the story.

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)

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