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

Short Answer Questions

1. What is the name of Dillon Charley's son?

2. Who placed the peyote chief under arrest after the oil well explosion?

3. What does the word "Dinee" mean?

4. As Chapter 8 opens, in what state is Colton Wolf?

5. How much is the check that Chee is given for his trouble regarding the box?

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe the second person who illegally parks the car in the parking lot while the bacteriologist watches from her window.

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

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

4. According to Chee, why do Navajos lack sentimentality about corpses?

5. Describe the person who illegally parks the truck in the parking lot while the bacteriologist watches from her window.

6. When Chee finally finds the home of the person he's looking for, Chee is asked to pass on a message. What is the message?

7. According to what Chee learns while visiting his predecessor, how did the People of Darkness get their name?

8. Why were the employees of the oil company going to "shoot" the oil well?

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

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

B.J. Vines wears different masks in the story. Both a respected community member and an incredible liar, Vines is a study in contradictions. Identify, then compare and contrast the different sides/personas of B.J. Vines. How would the entire plot have been affected if Vines had not been successful at deceiving those around him? Why is it necessary for Vines to wear different masks? Explain your reasoning.

Essay Topic 2

There are several characters introduced in the story who do not survive the end of the story. Identify at least three people killed as the novel progresses. Compare and contrast each of these deaths, being sure to indicate which character died, how the character died, who was responsible for the character's death, and what effect on the overall plot the character's death had. What could have - or should have - been learned from each of these deaths by the other characters?

Essay Topic 3

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?

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This section contains 775 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample