View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. Who does the narrator imagine is buried in Hector's empty coffin?

2. What information was carved into Hector's wooden grave marker?

3. Who does the narrator say he knows is buried in Hector's empty coffin?

4. Why is the narrator certain Hector did not get into the car with white strangers?

5. What did one mourner say white archeologists would do 100 years from now after Hector's grave was buried?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does the narrator hopes the Indians who killed his uncle did as they buried him?

2. At the cemetery, who does the narrator imagine is in Hector's casket?

3. How does the narrator feel at the end of the story standing in the cemetery?

4. Why does the narrator feel certain Hector would not have been killed by a white man?

5. What does the narrator say about why he does not know the mourning song his mother "whisper-sang" (3) after the mourners left the cemetery?

6. Why does the narrator feel certain Hector was most likely killed by a member of his own tribe?

7. What does one of the mourners say will happen in 100 years before they leave the cemetery?

8. Who is Agnes? Why does the narrator have a picture of her?

9. Why does the narrator say it was inevitable that Hector would become "a violent man who died violently" (3)?

10. How does the narrator imagine Hector met his death after leaving for Spokane?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Pick a character from the novel and discuss their goals and motives. Do they achieve their motive? Do they share similar goals and motives with other characters? Do their goals clash with other characters? How do the characters' goals and motives affect their interaction with each other?

Essay Topic 2

Write a brief essay about the significance of the narrator's relationship with his cousin on the story. How does this relationship move the plot?

Essay Topic 3

Write an essay examining the empty casket as a symbol in "Happy Trails." In what scenes does the empty casket appear? What is the context? How does this symbol develop the narrative?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 761 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample