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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 is located at the far corner of the bar?
(a) A bathroom.
(b) A vending machine.
(c) A pool table.
(d) A wood stove.

2. What did Ayah do by signing her name that she didn't realize until later?
(a) She denied permission for herself to receive benefits.
(b) She gave permission for her two children to be adopted.
(c) She gave permission for her two children to be removed from her care.
(d) She denied permission for Chato to work.

3. Whom did the government person talk to about Jimmie's death?
(a) Ayah's mother.
(b) The white rancher.
(c) Ayah.
(d) Chato.

4. Who came to tell Ayah that her remaining two children were sick?
(a) Chato.
(b) A white doctor.
(c) The medicine man.
(d) An elder.

5. After a time, Ayah realized that she could no longer do what with her two remaining children?
(a) Speak Navajo with them.
(b) See them.
(c) Hug them.
(d) Visit them.

Short Answer Questions

1. Ayah remembers that when Ella came to visit, she used to____.

2. Who is the main character in the story?

3. What branch of the military did Jimmie go into?

4. What reminds Ayah of tufts of wool at the beginning of the story?

5. Why does Ayah take care of Chato?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does the men's fear in the bar satisfy Ayah?

2. What role did Azzie's bar play in Chato's development?

3. What does Silko mean when she says Ayah carries the pain of "in her belly" and that the pain is fed by everything Ayah sees?

4. What does the statement, "...in the springtime the thin cows graze on grass already chewed flat to the ground" symbolize to the Navajo culture during the time in which Ayah is living?

5. Why does Silko make a point of stating that the white doctors came before they hire Navajo women to go with them as interpreters?

6. Why did Ayah feel relieved that the wine and the government money were gone?

7. What is the significance of Ayah's tracks in the snow being filled by the falling snow until they're gone? How does this apply to Ayah's memories?

8. What does the description of the place where Ayah, Chato and the children live on the white man's ranch reveal about their living conditions?

9. Although Ayah doesn't cry at first, she "hurts inside with anger". What does this mean and how does it fuel her anger toward the white man?

10. Why did Ayah feel the men look at her like she is a spider?

(see the answer keys)

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