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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 does Junior's ghost keep giving Victor?

2. Who are Eunice and Gladys?

3. What happens to Victor after Wright and Sheridan are finished talking to the band?

4. What record company's representatives come looking for Thomas?

5. What instrument does Big Mom play?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Johnson convince Big Mom to do and what does she give him? Why does she give him it?

2. What does Checkers find when she sneaks out of Thomas' house and goes to the church?

3. What knocks the band to the ground and what does Thomas ask Big Mom? How does she respond to his question?

4. What happens when Michael White Hawk sees Victor, Junior, Betty and Veronica?

5. How does Father Arnold end up going to comfort the band?

6. How does the band get involved with Sheridan and Wright?

7. Why does Wright bust into Checkers' hotel room?

8. What happens to Thomas in church and what does he decide needs done?

9. What are Victor and Junior doing while Thomas and Chess are at the hotel?

10. What does Victor do at the studio and after they leave?

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

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.

Essay Topic 3

The relationship between Thomas and his tormentors Victor and Junior is familiar and conditioned over time. Clearly these men have known each other since childhood and they continue to act the same way toward each other as they did as children. Victor and Junior are the oppressors, and Thomas is the passive victim.

1. Why do you think it is difficult to change our relationship with a person we have known for many years? Use examples from your own life and the text to support your answer.

2. What do you think are some of the reasons a bully victimizes others? Use examples from your own life and the text to support your answer.

3. Why do you think Thomas remains passive when he is bullied by Victor and Junior? Look at Thomas, not only in the present, but also the clues one is given from his childhood. Use examples from your own life and the text to support your answer.

(see the answer keys)

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