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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. Where does Bernie’s mother live in the novel?

2. The woman that Joe Leaphorn lives with holds what profession, according to Officer Bernie in Chapter 1?

3. Where does Louisa say she’s going for a conference in Chapter 5?

4. What does Bernie surmise “WR” stands for in Leaphorn’s cryptic journal in Chapter 7?

5. How tall is Officer Bernie said to be in Chapter 1?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does Bernie go to Leaphorn’s home in Chapter 4? Who does she discover there?

2. Where is Chee going in the beginning of Chapter 6? Why? What does he remark about their leads before he leaves?

3. How do Jackson Benally’s story and alibi change during his interrogation in Chapter 8?

4. What does Agent Cordova relate when he calls Bernie in Chapter 9? How does Chee respond?

5. What reference to the novel’s title appears in Chapter 4? How is “Spider Woman” described?

6. Why do Chee and Bernie go to Bashas’ grocery store in Chapter 3? What do they discover when they arrive?

7. What does Bernie discover when she arrives at her mother’s house in Chapter 4?

8. What is the setting of Chapter 1? Who is in attendance at the meeting that takes place in this chapter?

9. To what different locations does Officer Chee go in order to track down Garrison Tsosie in Chapter 10?

10. Why does Chee stop at Earl’s Restaurant in Chapter 10? What does Chee do there?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Analyze and discuss the contents of Leaphorn’s leather journal as described in Chapter 7. What do the symbols in the journal look like? What letters and numbers are described? What clue do these symbols and letters lead to?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the theme of family in Spider Woman’s Daughter. How is this theme illustrated through Bernie’s mother and sister? What relationship does Chee have with his family? How is “family” related to “clan” within the Navajo Nation?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the themes of tradition and culture in Spider Woman’s Daughter. How is tradition perceived by Bernie and Chee and others within the Navajo Nation? How does Darleen differ in her views of tradition and culture? In what ways do the traditions and cultures of the Navajos clash with those of the whites in the story?

(see the answer keys)

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