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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Nector accuses Marie of forcing him to be with her because:
(a) He feels guilty for what he has done.
(b) He wants Lulu to hear so she won't be angry with him.
(c) He wants her to be afraid of him.
(d) He wants the nuns to understand his actions.

2. Marie discovers later in her life that the convent:
(a) Was a part of the government plan to relocate Indians.
(b) Was a kind of punishment for nuns who went astray.
(c) Was a place for those who had abandoned the church.
(d) Was the final stop for difficult nuns.

3. Marie will not pray because:
(a) She refuses to be caught begging God.
(b) She keeps her secrets to herself.
(c) She doesn't remember the prayers of her childhood.
(d) She does not want to go to church.

4. When Marie does not cry out at the pain caused by her wounds or by Nector's restraint, what does this suggest?
(a) Marie does not want to show weakness.
(b) Marie wants to impress Nector.
(c) Marie regrets her actions at the convent.
(d) Marie does not feel any pain.

5. Beverly rationalizes his tryst with Lulu after Henry's funeral as:
(a) The result of Lulu's desire to have one last child.
(b) The result of their long-buried passion for one another.
(c) The result of two people getting over the grief of loss.
(d) The result of Lulu's effect on men.

Short Answer Questions

1. The conversation between Zelda and Aurelia suggests what?

2. Why does June carry a doorknob in her purse?

3. Leopolda's words "Help me, Marie" before they take the loaves from the oven imply:

4. When Nector compares himself to a fish failing to breathe in an airless space, this comparison reflects:

5. Albertine's mother does not tell her about June's death because:

Short Essay Questions

1. What do Howard Kashpaw's actions reveal?

2. What images of dark and light might symbolize good and bad in "Saint Marie?"

3. What does the motif of effort in chapter 6 reveal about Nector?

4. Describe Lipsha's relationship with his grandparents.

5. Choose three examples of sensory detail from the chapter and describe their uses.

6. How does Erdrich describe Gordie's limited perception of reality (caused by his drunkenness)?

7. What do Beverly's blurred tattoos and weakened muscles suggest about him? What does the bird's continued flight suggest?

8. What is ironic about the day of June's death, the Saturday before Easter?

9. Why did the author have Zelda find the letter from Nector rather than Marie?

10. How does Beverly's past as a veteran affect his thoughts about Lulu?

(see the answer keys)

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