View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. How does Chee's predecessor characterize Dillon Charley's son?

2. When Chee goes to his office after visiting his predecessor, who has been trying to contact Chee?

3. What did Vines do when Sena started hounding members of the peyote church when the trouble between the men first started?

4. After finishing with his interview, where does Chee invite Mary?

5. According to Rosemary Vines, what do the Navajos in the area think B.J. is?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does the Vines' house puzzle Jim Chee?

2. When asked by Chee, why does B.J. Vines claim that Sena dislikes Vines?

3. When Colton Wolf receives a letter at the beginning of Chapter 8, what is the subject of the letter?

4. According to Chee's predecessor, a relationship with the tribal police was destroyed after the oil well explosion. Describe the initial rift that caused the relationship to unravel.

5. As the reader is first introduced to Jim Chee, what season is just beginning according to the traditional calendar of Dinee?

6. After Rosemary questions Chee on how well he knows Navajo "religion," what does Rosemary ask if Chee knows anything about?

7. According to what Chee learns from his predecessor, why did a group of roustabouts not go to work on the day the explosion occurred?

8. According to what Charley tells Chee, what is contained in the missing box?

9. According to what B.J Vines tells Chee, why does Vines believe the box was stolen?

10. Why does Wolf's employer send Wolf to the university campus?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

There is no doubt that Gordo Sena is greatly affected by the events the death of his brother. Discuss how his brother's death and the events thereafter affect not only Sena's worldview but also his determination to find exact vengeance on his brother's killer. How do Gordo Sena's experiences affect his mental state, his ability to serve as sheriff his community, and his willingness to help Chee?

Essay Topic 2

In many ways, the novel is a series of contrasts designed to heighten the reader's awareness and draw the reader deeper into the story and the intricacies of each of the story's characters. Identify at least three contrasts used in the novel. Describe these contrasts and determine how they affect the story's plot as well as the reader's emotional involvement in the characters' lives. If these identified contrasts were not included in the story, what effect would their absence have on the storyline, the characters' development, and the readers' involvement?

Essay Topic 3

Jim Chee and Henry Becenti can be seen as kindred spirits. Although they are not quite the same, they share a number of similarities. Identify and describe these similarities. Then, based on your discussion of their similarities, identify the ways in which these two men's similarities facilitate the plot's development and moves the story forward.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 821 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample