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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 does Marcus say each performer he will discuss in the book attempts to do?
(a) Make music for money.
(b) Redefine love.
(c) Entertain.
(d) Create oneself.

2. According to Marcus in "Robert Johnson -1938," what gives music "mythical authority"?
(a) When the music reflects life.
(b) When the singer uses a deeper tenor.
(c) When the songs attract fans.
(d) When the music tells a story.

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

4. What is American culture built on according to Marcus?
(a) History.
(b) Myths.
(c) Deception.
(d) Careers.

5. What happened the first day of The Band's first concert after releasing The Band?
(a) They invented crowd surfing.
(b) They played their best performance.
(c) They got stage fright.
(d) They broke up.

Short Answer Questions

1. Who did Marcus speak with while in Woodstock to interview Robbie Robertson?

2. How did Harmonica Frank get his name?

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

4. In "The Band," to what does Marcus compare the song "We Can Talk About It Now"?

5. Who wrote "Whispering Pines"?

Short Essay Questions

1. Compare and contrast Ahab and Huck using Marcus' descriptions from "Harmonica Frank - 1951." How are they different? How are they similar?

2. How does Greil Marcus define "artist" in the prologue?

3. According to Marcus in the introduction to "The Band," what message did The Band send to its audience?

4. According to Marcus in "Harmonica Frank -1951," why would Lyndon Johnson and Harmonica Frank get along?

5. In "The Band," what is one philosophical assumption that Marcus makes in the section "The Righteous Land"?

6. In "The Band," what is significant about a group according to Marcus in "Crossing the Border"?

7. In "Robert Johnson -1938," what common theme does Robert Johnson's music have with music by Eric Clapton?

8. Just before "The Righteous Land," Marcus quotes from "We Can Talk About It Now." The storyteller in the song tells "there's no need to slave. The whip . . . is in the grave" (53). What type of imagery does this line have and what does it mean?

9. Marcus analyzes Robert Johnson's "Stones in My Passway" in "Robert Johnson -1938." What is the song about and what are the tools that Johnson uses to create the mood?

10. According to the prologue, what is Greil Marcus' purpose in writing Mystery Train?

(see the answer keys)

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