View a FREE sample

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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. In "The Band," what does Marcus say the Band felt was a mistake?
(a) The politics were quieting down because of the loss of great political leaders.
(b) Young Americans thought rock 'n' roll was on its way out.
(c) Country music was the most popular music.
(d) Young Americans felt like exiles in America.

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

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

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

5. In "The Band," what problem does Marcus reveal about The Band's sense of community?
(a) They lose themselves in each other.
(b) They are isolationists.
(c) They had a false sense of community.
(d) They struggle to live in it.

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

7. What was the original name of the Band in the early sixties?
(a) The Bush Beaters.
(b) The Hawks.
(c) The Beatles.
(d) Robbie and the Rockers.

8. What religious group does Marcus compare blues singers to in "Robert Johnson -1938"?
(a) Satanists.
(b) Catholics.
(c) Voodoo.
(d) Puritans.

9. Who did Marcus speak with while in Woodstock to interview Robbie Robertson?
(a) Dominique Robertson.
(b) Bob Dylan.
(c) Robert Manuel.
(d) Sly Stone.

10. Who sang "Fool about mah money/don't try to save"?
(a) Elvis Presley.
(b) Little Richard.
(c) Harmonica Frank.
(d) Sam Phillips.

11. Who wrote Why Are We in Vietnam?
(a) Norman Mailer.
(b) Lyndon Johnson.
(c) Erich Segal.
(d) Harmonica Frank.

12. Which of the following performers will NOT be discussed in Mystery Train?
(a) Randy Newman.
(b) Chuck Berry.
(c) Sly Stone.
(d) Elvis Presley.

13. According to the Prologue, why are Harmonica Frank and Robert Johnson included in Mystery Train?
(a) They are rock 'n' roll legends.
(b) They were against rock 'n' roll.
(c) They taught the rock 'n' roll legends.
(d) They preceded rock 'n' roll.

14. According to Marcus, what problem does the storyteller of Stage Fright face?
(a) He cannot find home.
(b) He resents his success.
(c) He has lost his love.
(d) No one helps him when he reaches out.

15. Who said "If you have a mother-in-law with only one eye, and that eye is in the middle of her forehead, you don't keep her in the living room"?
(a) Harmonica Frank.
(b) Lyndon Johnson.
(c) Erich Segal.
(d) Norman Mailer.

Short Answer Questions

1. In "Harmonica Frank -1951," who is the "latest Ahab"?

2. In the Prologue, Marcus says that the music he will discuss dramatizes what?

3. What was Johnson's instrument of choice?

4. Whom does Marcus claim puts the pieces together to find meaning in the music?

5. What does Marcus claim in "The Band" is not community?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 489 words (approx. 2 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample