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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. Who is the author of "Happy Trails"?

2. What did the narrator's cousin tell him they could do if they were royalty?

3. Where did the narrator's "beautiful and distant cousin" (1) move?

4. How does the narrator say Indian's view their worst losses and greatest beauty?

5. How does the narrator feel Hector died?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does the narrator say was the best part of the funeral?

2. What does the narrator's mother say about Indian self help books?

3. What does the narrator suggest may have happened to Hector as he hitchhiked to Spokane?

4. Where was Hector's casket buried? What does the narrator say about the Coeur d'Alene Catholics?

5. When the narrator's mother says Hector was a good man, the narrator says he was great. Does he really believe Hector was great? How do you know?

6. Who is Hector in relation to the narrator? When was the last time the narrator has seen him?

7. Describe the narrator's relationship with his female cousin whom he describes as gorgeous.

8. Why does the narrator say people have a tendency to aggrandize the dead?

9. What type of person does the narrator say Hector was? How old would he be if he were alive? What does the narrator think Hector would be like?

10. What does the narrator decide they should do 40 years after Hector disappeared?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write an essay about the author of "Happy Trails." Who is he? What else has he written? How is "Happy Trails" similar or different from his other works?

Essay Topic 2

The only characters named in the story are Hector and Agnes. Write an essay analyzing why the author chose to name only these two characters. What impact did this have on your reading? How might this choice represent the theme of inherited pain or oppression?

Essay Topic 3

Write an essay about what you would include in the story if it were a longer work. What did you want to know more about? Why? How might the author include the information?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 653 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample