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

2. How old was Hector's grandmother when she moved to the newly formed Coeur d'Alene reservation?

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

4. Who holds Hector in the photograph the narrator has of him?

5. What does the narrator plan to do at the end of the story as he stands in the cemetery?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. What does the narrator plan to do at the end of the story?

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

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

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

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

7. 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?

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

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 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?

Essay Topic 2

Genre is a category assigned to a literary work, like a novel. What are some genres that could be used to classify "Happy Trails"? What is the main genre of the story? Explain.

Essay Topic 3

Write an essay analyzing Alexie's decision to tell the story using first person point-of-view from the narrator's perspective. How does this impact the reader's understanding of the story's events? Is this effective? Why or why not?

(see the answer keys)

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