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 does Mary give Sita at the end of chapter 7?

2. Where does Celestine work?

3. What city does Sita visit in chapter 5?

4. What does Wallace Pfef want to build over Lover's Lane?

5. What town is mentioned in the first sentence of "The Branch"?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does Mary feel afraid at the beginning of chapter 1 when Karl leaves?

2. Why does Martin Miller keep Mary's baby brother?

3. Describe Mary's one attempt at romance.

4. Describe the appearance of Omar and Adelaide at the end of chapter 3.

5. Why does Mary give Sita the sewing machine in chapter 7?

6. Describe Argus, as pictured in "The Branch."

7. Describe Fleur Pillager, her possessions, and her job.

8. Why does Karl hurt himself jumping on the bed in chapter 6?

9. How does The Air Seeder work?

10. What does Karl fantasize about his mother in chapter 3? Why?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Choose one theme that has appeared and reappeared throughout the novel. Describe its importance to the character it affects, and discuss its significance for the plot line.

Essay Topic 2

Explicate Sita's hallucination in which Karl sinks into the ground. What happens? When does the hallucination begin? How do the other characters react and how would the scene have been changed if Erdrich had chosen a different narrator?

Essay Topic 3

What does the rain at the end of the novel signify, and how does it compare to other symbols in the novel? Explain.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 658 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample