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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. Due to the violence to which Hector was born into, the narrator says it was inevitable Hector would become what?

2. At the graveside, what does the narrator hope whoever killed Hector would do?

3. What is the best thing the narrator recalls his father saying to him?

4. Which South Dakota battle does the narrator say the U.S. Army massacred hundreds of unarmed people?

5. Who does the narrator say likely killed Hector by accident?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

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

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

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

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

7. What is the best thing the narrator's father ever said to him?

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

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

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write an essay comparing and contrasting Hector and the narrator in "Happy Trails." What details help develop their character and what do these details tell you about them? What is their background? How do they know each other? In what ways are they similar or different? Explain.

Essay Topic 2

Write a brief essay analyzing Alexie’s choice to write "Happy Trails" in past tense. Do you agree with this choice? How would the story be different if written in a different tense?

Essay Topic 3

Write an essay examining the ending of "Happy Trails." How did the ending fit into the storyline? Do you think the ending was effective? What theme might the ending represent? What might the author have done differently?

(see the answer keys)

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