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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. What responsibilities does Marie keep up in order to distract herself from unhappiness?
(a) She cares for the children, cooks, and cleans.
(b) She goes out to find her husband and drag him home.
(c) She sells her apples and cleans others' homes.
(d) She cooks all the food she can find in the house.

2. What are Marie's reasons for not wanting another child around?
(a) She has plans to leave with her husband.
(b) She is ashamed of what the neighbors will think.
(c) She has always hated her sister and her family.
(d) She has too many children and a drunk of a husband.

3. In what way does Albertine cause her mother's downfall?
(a) Her birth forces her mother to work instead of returning to the convent.
(b) She causes her mother to leave the reservation.
(c) She forces her mother to send her to nursing school.
(d) She leaves her children behind in her mother's care.

4. When Marie pours syrup on her hand while thinking of Leopolda, the scene reminds the reader of what?
(a) The wound Leopolda inflicted on Marie.
(b) The wounds of Jesus Christ.
(c) Marie's carelessness.
(d) Marie's self-hatred.

5. During their power struggle, Marie realizes:
(a) She wants to go and get Nector back.
(b) She still needs Leopolda to save her from darkness.
(c) She cannot take the spoon because Leopolda needs it.
(d) She does not want Leopolda to die.

Short Answer Questions

1. Marie's quiet behavior after the scalding leads the other nuns to believe:

2. Eli appeals to June because:

3. Marie finally confronts Rushes Bear because:

4. When Zelda delivers the letter, what does Marie do?

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

Short Essay Questions

1. What do Howard Kashpaw's actions reveal?

2. What effect does the third person limited point of view have on the reader's understanding of characters in the chapter entitled "Lulu's Boys?"

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

4. Why is Lulu interested in Lipsha Morrisey knowing the truth about his parents?

5. Describe the mood of the final day Lyman and Henry spend together.

6. What does June's "hanging" teach Marie about the girl?

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

8. Why don't Marie's plans for Nector's success work out?

9. Albertine's pun on the chapter title "Patient Abuse" in her nursing textbook implies what two ideas?

10. Consider the motif of brokenness in chapter 1. Choose two people or events, or things that are "broken" and make a connection between them.

(see the answer keys)

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