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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. Who are the Yeibechei?

2. According to Ayah, what keeps her people connected to the land?

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

4. When Ayah looked at Chato's scarred hands and at his face, what did she think of him?

5. As Ayah sits in the snow, what does she think about her shoes?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why did Ayah believe Chato is a stranger?

2. What is significant about Chato getting sick after the white rancher he works for fires him and evicts him from the ranch?

3. Why did Ayah no longer feel cold after remembering weaving and her traditional clothing?

4. What does Jimmie's true Navajo name being reduced to something as common as "Jimmie" in English say about the white man?

5. What does Ayah recognize about Chato's drinking?

6. What is the importance of the lullaby at the end of the story?

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

8. 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?

9. What does Ayah mean when she says "they are already being weaned from the lava hills and from this sky"?

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The theme of loss is ever-present in Lullaby. What does Silko state is loss through Ayah's memories of her life? How does the overall tone of the story convey this sense of loss? Use fact details from the text to support your answer.

Essay Topic 2

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 3

Ayah states that the Navajo elders advise against learning the white man's language or his ways for it endangers them. How does Ayah's life story of tragedy at the hands of white prove the validity of this statement? In what ways does Chato embody that danger the elders warn about? Use the text to support your answer.

(see the answer keys)

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