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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. How old was Harjo's sister Margaret when Harjo awoke to find her stepfather holding Margaret up in the air by one leg?

2. With what object did Harjo's stepfather hit her little sister on the occasion described by Harjo?

3. How many hours did it take Harjo's family to drive to the location of her mother's final public singing performance?

4. Harjo states that which person in her family is "one of the oldest living relatives in [her] family line" (13)?

5. Desmond Baker was the name of which one of Harjo's relatives?

Short Essay Questions

1. What role did Jazz music play in the development of Harjo's identity?

2. Which member of Harjo's family was born with a caul over her face and what is the significance of this fact?

3. For what reason did Harjo associate beauty with danger in her early childhood?

4. What events does Harjo imagine would have unfolded if a member of the family had called the police about their stepfather's abuse?

5. Discuss two instances when the force Harjo calls "the knowing" (71) somehow assisted her.

6. What sort of coping mechanisms does Harjo portray as detrimental, rather than helpful?

7. How does Harjo interpret the preacher's behavior on the day the three Mexican-American sisters come to church?

8. What sort of school was the Institute of American Indian Arts and how did Harjo feel about attending?

9. Discuss a moment in the part of the text entitled East when Harjo provides a feminist perspective.

10. What is Harjo's message regarding the way in which everyone must deal with their "gulfs of sadness" (15)?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What messages does Harjo send to the audience about the themes of isolation and outreach?

Essay Topic 2

How do the themes of oppression and brutality function within the memoir Crazy Brave and what is Harjo’s message regarding these themes?

Essay Topic 3

Examine how Harjo goes about connecting personal experience with the arguments she puts forth within the pages of Crazy Brave. How does Harjo accomplish this goal and how does this goal relate to the overarching themes of the text?

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This section contains 1,262 words (approx. 5 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample