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

2. Who says "Instead of throwing a knapsack over your back and getting out on the highway, to learn about life, we were able to do it together. We were protected by one another"?
(a) Greil Marcus.
(b) Bobby Bland.
(c) Robert Manuel.
(d) Robbie Robertson.

3. What album does Marcus say belongs to Richard Manuel in "The Band?
(a) The Weight.
(b) Moondog Matinee.
(c) Share Your Love.
(d) Dixie.

4. What is the subject of Robert Johnson's song "Stones in My Passway"?
(a) A woman the speaker misses.
(b) A man who wants power over other souls.
(c) The end of the world as we know it.
(d) A man seeking salvation.

5. Who wrote the book discussed in the Prologue?
(a) Erich Segal.
(b) Nicholas Sparks.
(c) Irwin Shaw.
(d) John Steinbeck.

Short Answer Questions

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

2. What is the "old American idea" that the worried man is stuck in according to Marcus?

3. What is ironic about rock 'n' roll and democracy?

4. In "Harmonica Frank -1951," Marcus claims that Phillips was looking for music to do what?

5. What "spirit" does Harmonica Frank have that Marcus believes is truly American?

Short Essay Questions

1. Who is Marcus' audience for Mystery Train and how do you know?

2. Describe the example of an artist that Greil Marcus uses in the prologue. Who is an artist and why? Why are the other people in the example not artists?

3. 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?

4. According to Marcus in "The Band," why is the story of Virgil Cane in "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down" appealing to all Americans?

5. In "Harmonica Frank - 1951," what exactly is the American spirit that Marcus believes Harmonica Frank brought to rock n' roll?

6. According to Marcus in "The Band," who is the storyteller in Big Pink and what is his story?

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

8. In the prologue, what four artists does Marcus say he will write about and why these performers?

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. There are several dualisms that Marcus identifies the Band reflecting on in "The Righteous Land " section of "The Band." What are two of these dualisms and what aspect of America do they reflect?

(see the answer keys)

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