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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 does Tayo eat as he is walking back to Ts’eh’s house?

2. Why do the two cowboys chasing Tayo leave not take him back to their boss?

3. Who is Descheeny married to when he brings a Mexican girl to his home?

4. What is painted on the war shield that is at Tayo’s house when he returns from finding the cattle?

5. In what three colors does the medicine man paint paw prints next to bear footprints?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Josiah tell Tayo about the spring and how does Tayo feel about the story?

2. What does Betonie say when Tayo says he wants to find Josiah’s cattle?

3. How does Robert begin to break through to Tayo and why might Robert be a good person to talk to his nephew?

4. How is Tayo when the war is over?

5. How does Rocky’s mother feel about him going off to war and what does Tayo tell her?

6. What does Josiah decide to purchase and who advised him to do it?

7. What happens to the family’s shepherd, Harley, the dog and the sheep?

8. What does Tayo first do when he leaves Betonie?

9. How do Josiah and the boys learn about cattle care?

10. What does Tayo’s mother do with him when he is four?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

One of the themes of the story is that white people are alien, they are not superior, as is commonly thought, and do not dictate cultural morés to the Native Americans.

Discuss the reasons the Indians might have viewed white people as alien or strange and how some of that viewpoint changed during the course of Ceremony. Use examples from Ceremony to support your response.

Essay Topic 2

The medicine man's voice of reason, enlightenment and healing makes a very powerful statement.

Discuss the ways in which the medicine man’s talks with Tayo helped Tayo to heal. Use examples from Ceremony to support your response.

Essay Topic 3

Often, authors will write about what they know, and sometimes knowing a little about the author makes the books more interesting.

Research and give a brief biographical sketch of Leslie Marmon Silko. Do you think there is always some of the author's own life in his/her novels? Why or why not? Give examples. Name one idea/concept you think may have been a part of the Silko's agenda. Analyze that idea throughout the book and discuss Silko's probable agenda concerning that idea.

(see the answer keys)

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