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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. What kills the man's horse?

2. When does Brown say the Indians do not ride?

3. Which character decides to stay with the Judge?

4. What interests the boys about the man?

5. What causes Tobin and the Kid to travel slowly?

Short Essay Questions

1. What happens between Glanton and the Indians in Chapter 16?

2. What happens to the boy's puppies?

3. How do Glanton and his gang use the ferry?

4. Describe how Elrod gets killed.

5. What do the women do with the boy in the cage?

6. How does the Kid survive the snow and the soldiers' onslaught?

7. In what way does Chapter 20 show a theme of evil?

8. How does the gang get to the town of Jesus Maria?

9. Who wants to join the gang in Chapter 17?

10. Summarize the novel.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Examine the representation of Indians in the novel.

1) What Indian tribes are represented in the book. What are the histories of these tribes and in what way were they involved with the Mexican War.

2) Compare a historical account of an Indian tribe in the book with McCarthy's representations. Does he have a certain aim in mind for presenting the Indians as he or does he just want to represent it how it really was?

Essay Topic 2

Examine how much the Kid's upbringing was responsible for the person he became? What did he learn from his parents that made him into the person he became? How much did his father's blaming him for his mother's death affect him? Did it make him become a cold person? Would things have been any different if had met less violent people on his travels?

Essay Topic 3

What comparisons can be drawn between Samuel Chamberlain's My Confession and Blood Meridian? Which is the more accurate account and why? Why does McCarty uses Chamberlain's novel as a reference point?

(see the answer keys)

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