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This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. "Me and the Devil Blues" uses imagery that provokes what emotion?
(a) Desolation.
(b) Love.
(c) Hubris.
(d) Lust.

2. What author does Marcus quote in the beginning of "Robert Johnson -1938" to illustrate the promise of American life?
(a) Robert Johnson.
(b) Norman Mailer.
(c) Herman Melville.
(d) F. Scott Fitzgerald.

3. What is the "old American idea" that the worried man is stuck in according to Marcus?
(a) The past as the present.
(b) Tradition before change.
(c) A joint-stock world.
(d) An innocent world.

4. What is added in the middle of the chapter "Harmonica Frank -1951," set off with a note from the author?
(a) An appendix.
(b) A footnote.
(c) An autobiography.
(d) A digression.

5. What does Marcus say failure mean to Americans in "Robert Johnson -1938"?
(a) Despair.
(b) Betrayal.
(c) Opportunity.
(d) Loss.

6. What song does Marcus claim is Robert Johnson's most terrifying song?
(a) "Come on in My Kitchen."
(b) "Walking Blues."
(c) "Stones in My Passway."
(d) "Me and the Devil Blues."

7. According to the critics Marcus references in "The Band," who was Robbie Robertson's "foil"?
(a) The audience.
(b) The Band.
(c) Robert Manuel.
(d) The manager.

8. According to Marcus, what is the affirmation that sums up The Band?
(a) Don't worry, Be happy.
(b) Bad things happen, and you can't do anything about it.
(c) Nothing is really divided.
(d) Life has been so good to us all.

9. With whom did the Band play from 1965 to 1966, helping him and themselves to improve and gain popularity?
(a) Elvis Presley.
(b) Bob Dylan.
(c) Bo Diddley.
(d) Ronnie Hawkins.

10. Who wrote: "You run without moving from a terror in which you cannot believe"?
(a) Greil Marcus.
(b) William Faulkner.
(c) F. Scott Fitzgerald.
(d) Robert Johnson.

11. What is ironic about rock 'n' roll and democracy?
(a) Each asks people to be something better than they are.
(b) They demand work and play.
(c) Neither works in a specific way.
(d) They are both individual and a community.

12. In "Harmonica Frank -1951," Marcus claims that Phillips was looking for music to do what?
(a) Confuse things.
(b) Affirm traditional roles.
(c) Start a revolution.
(d) Anger people.

13. What book is being discussed on the television show sketch used in the Prologue?
(a) Of Mice and Men.
(b) Love Story.
(c) Rich Man, Poor Man.
(d) The Notebook.

14. Who wrote "Whispering Pines"?
(a) Robert Levon.
(b) Robbie Robertson.
(c) Richard Manuel.
(d) Elvis Presley.

15. How many songs did Johnson record before he died?
(a) 30.
(b) 29.
(c) 98.
(d) 5.

Short Answer Questions

1. According to the Prologue, why are Harmonica Frank and Robert Johnson included in Mystery Train?

2. What betrayal does the song "Tears of Rage" convey?

3. What image does The Band use that shows both division and unity?

4. According to Marcus in "Robert Johnson -1938," what is the American struggle?

5. Who wrote the book discussed in the Prologue?

(see the answer keys)

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