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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. How does remembering make Ayah feel?

2. Why is Ayah surprised when she reaches the wooden steps of the bar?

3. What does the sound of the wind remind the main character of?

4. Where does the story take place?

5. As a little girl, what did Ayah do with the raw, washed wool?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why was the walk back to the bar a "hard walk" for Ayah?

2. What is the purpose of Ayah remembering Jimmie's birth in the opening scene?

3. How did the environment of the hills take away Ayah's and the children's fear and anger?

4. Why was the blonde woman afraid of when she brought Ella and Danny back to visit Ayah?

5. What is the significance of Jimmie's old Army blanket to Ayah?

6. What is the significance of Chato being able to go into Azzie's Bar, where once Navajos are thrown out?

7. Why is Ayah's hatred of the fact that Chato teaches her to sign her name a part of the theme of the story?

8. Why did the men in the bar remind Ayah of the first time white people brought Danny and Ella back?

9. How did Ayah find peace in the fear stained air of Azzie's Bar?

10. Ayah states she is frightened by how the doctors look at the children, like lizards watching flies. Why does this metaphor drive home the predator and prey motif?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

At the end of the story, Ayah sings a lullaby to Chato as he peacefully dies in his sleep during the bitter cold. How is the act representative of Ayah finding peace? In what ways does it support the Navajos' belief in the circle of life? What is the importance of song in Lullaby? How does the importance of oral tradition play into song and its usage in Lullaby? Use fact details from the text to support your answer.

Essay Topic 2

The Anglos aren't the only people who have conflict with the Navajos and Ayah. Explain how Ayah and Chato along with other Navajos interact with Spanish Americans. What are the differences to how they interact with Anglos? Discuss the similarities. Use the text to support your answer.

Essay Topic 3

In the opening scene of the story, Ayah is aware of nature's surroundings. How does Silko set up the tone of the rest of the story? What is the symbolic importance of the sun, snow, and nature and its relationship to Ayah at the onset of the story? Use the text to support your answer.

(see the answer keys)

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