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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 prediction does Mother make about the New Year?

2. What does Elder Uncle tell Ishi to seek when he leaves Tuliyani?

3. What is difficult about the shot that Ishi had taken at the saldu on horseback?

4. What does Tushi ask Grandmother to do in order to make the time pass while Ishi and Timawi are gone?

5. What worries Ishi when he sees the saldu stop at Black Rock?

Short Essay Questions

1. According to Elder Uncle, why should the Yahi people not mourn for Timawi?

2. Why does Ishi choose not to kill the snow rabbit?

3. What assurance does Grandmother offer to Mother and Tushi after she realizes they have been crying over her approaching death?

4. How is Ishi's relationship with Timawi similar to his relationship with Tushi?

5. What makes Ishi's hunting trip with Elder Uncle so memorable?

6. How do the saldu treat Ishi's village when they discover it?

7. What comment does Grandfather make regarding Ishi's eating after he returns from his journey?

8. What does Tushi's dream seem to foretell, and how does Ishi respond to her dream?

9. How has the relationship between Ishi and Tushi changed since they first came to Wowunupo?

10. How does Tushi's contribution to the move conflict with the traditional expectations that the Yahi have for women?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

How are Ishi and his family about to avoid the saldu for so long? Analyze the measures that the tribe takes in order to hide their existence from the saldu all around them. How do these efforts protect them? What causes these efforts to fail? In the end, was hiding their best option, or should they have taken another approach? Support you opinions with specific evidence from the text.

Essay Topic 2

Throughout the novel, Ishi seems to be a pacifist. He is reprimanded in his youth for not killing the saldu who attempts to lasso Tushi, and he is disturbed by the news of the war across the ocean. Trace Ishi's history as a pacifist and explain how this approach to life influences him in later years. Be sure to include specific examples.

Essay Topic 3

Even though Ishi dies as the last of his people, he manages to "save" the Yahi in a way. Explain how Ishi is able to preserve the Yahi way and ensure that the culture does not disappear. Provide specific examples and quotations for support.

(see the answer keys)

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