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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. In Chapter 7, how many sets of tracks does Leaphorn find?

2. In Chapter 6, for whom does Leaphorn feel an amused attraction?

3. What is taboo in the eight days leading to Shalako?

4. In Chapter 5, Leaphorn talks to Young Husband, a neighbor to the commune. Where has Young Husband spent 12 months?

5. Ernesto Cata is one of the missing boys. What other name or role does the reader know Cata by?

Short Essay Questions

1. In Chapter 1, why are there some things that the Little Fire God's friend, George Bowlegs, can't know?

2. Susanne is taking care of Otis, who she explains is sick. What is wrong with Otis in Leaphorn's opinion?

3. Describe the vehicle that Leaphorn travels in.

4. Leaphorn believes that George Bowlegs can survive easily enough in the wild until the snow comes. How does Leaphorn expect George to survive?

5. What Navajo custom does Leaphorn honor when he arrives at the Bowlegs' hogan?

6. The reader learns about a member of Leaphorn's family in Chapter 7. Summarize who it is and why this person is important to Leaphorn.

7. What does George's note to his brother say?

8. Describe Ted Isaacs' appearance.

9. What kinds of tracks are found at the last place where Ernesto Cata is supposed to be?

10. Describe the landscape in Chapter 1.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Chapter 11 hints at Susanne's background. How does the author let the reader know about Susanne's troubled home without a specific statement to that fact? How has this made her a victim within the commune? What characters seems to actually care about Susanne?

Essay Topic 2

In Chapter 10, it is revealed that if Ernesto Cata had lived, he would have grown up as a respected and honored member of the Zuni, even a leader. Compare and contrast Ernesto's possible future with George's probable future. Does this explain some of George's "crazy" behavior that several have reported to Leaphorn?

Essay Topic 3

In Chapter 3, the reader learns more about George Bowlegs through Leaphorn's eyes and in his conversation with George's younger brother, Cecil. This information leaves the reader feeling empathetic for both boys who live a life of loneliness and poverty. Which testimony from Chapter 3 is more powerful in its ability to generate the empathy: Leaphorn's observations or what Cecil says. Would the empathy be as strong with only perspective of the Bowlegs home life?

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