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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 the Indian reservation where a black man comes at the beginning of the book?

2. Who does Junior dream has captured him in the nineteenth century?

3. What does Johnson do when he gets out of Thomas' vehicle?

4. What does the band find when they arrive at Thomas' house?

5. What does Chess do at her house when they first arrive?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does the man who Thomas meets at an intersection on the reservation first say to Thomas?

2. What happens when the band first arrives at Flathead Reservation and what happens about time there?

3. What happens to the band on the way to a venue not on an Indian Reservation and what surprises the band about the incident?

4. How does Lester end up with a broken nose during the game with the police?

5. How does the song "Reservation Blues" come about?

6. What does Thomas ask Chess and Checkers to do and what is their response?

7. What happens with the guitar and Thomas the night he plays for Victor and Junior?

8. What does Victor dream about that involves his mother and his stepfather?

9. What do Thomas and Chess do when Victor and Junior are sleeping in the van?

10. What does the guitar ask of Thomas while they wait for Victor and Junior and what is Thomas' response?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Victor began drinking at an early age. Junior tried to avoid drinking because of what he witnessed with his parents' drinking, but Junior eventually succumbed to Victor's encouragement to drink. Thomas does not drink, but he has a father who is an alcoholic. Alcoholism has had a profound effect on the members of Coyote Springs, as it has with many Native Americans. Thomas, Victor, and Junior have all encountered tragedy due to alcoholism, whether it be one's own alcoholism or the excessive drinking of a relative.

1. What might be some of the reasons a person who had alcoholic parents and witnessing what alcoholism does would take up drinking. Use examples from your own life and the text to support your answer.

2. What are some of the circumstances on a reservation that might push people to drink even knowing that it appears Native Americans cannot genetically handle alcohol. Use examples from your own life and the text to support your answer.

3. What do you see is the difference in Thomas's personality from Victor or Junior's that would induce him to not drink even though he had an alcoholic father like Victor and Junior? Use examples from your own life and the text to support your answer.

Essay Topic 2

Although "Reservation Blues" did not end on a happy note, many novels, and perhaps a majority, of novels do end on a happy note. Discuss the following:

1. Why do you think many (most?) people want what they perceive as a happy or good ending to a novel? Explain your opinion. Do you? Why or why not?

2. What are three reasons to read fiction? Discuss each one in light of "Reservation Blues" and whether or not it fulfills all three, two or one of the reasons you mention. Give examples as to why "Reservation Blues" is or is not successful in fulfilling the reasons you discuss.

3. Do you think reading solely for entertainment is as good a reason to read as any other? Why or why not? Can any work of fiction or non-fiction, no matter how poorly written, enlighten, teach, stimulate thought? Why or why not?

4. How does the ending of Reservation Blues affect your perception of whether it is a good book or not? Would you have rather seen a more positive ending? Why do you think the author ended the book on a somewhat negative note?

Essay Topic 3

1. What is foreshadow? How many incidences of foreshadow are in "Reservation Blues"? How does foreshadow contribute to a book's suspense?

2. Discuss an example of foreshadow in "Reservation Blues" including why you believe it is foreshadow. Include examples from the book and your own life to illustrate your answer.

3. How do you think most people react to uncertainty in their lives? Use examples from "Reservation Blues" and your own live to support your opinion.

(see the answer keys)

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