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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. When Chee first meets the owner of the Burnt Water Trading Post, how long has the owner been operating the store?

2. What agency is Johnson with?

3. According to the rumors that Chee shares with the owner of the Burnt Water Trading Post, what kind of drugs were being smuggled in on the Cessna?

4. How long does Chee explore the crash site looking for answers before he hears a car approaching?

5. As Chee ponders the mystery, who does Chee imagine telling him that there was a reason for the car to be hidden away?

Short Essay Questions

1. After Johnson leaves Chee's trailer, Chee tells Captain Largo what happened. According to Chee, what was Johnson's story going to be if Chee filed a complaint against Johnson?

2. What similarity does Chee notice about the man who was at the plane crash site and the man who almost discovered Chee's hiding place during his night in the arroyo?

3. According to what Largo tells Chee, what does the Drug Enforcement Agency think about the location of the drug shipment?

4. When Chee suddenly awakens in the arroyo, what sound first causes him to wake?

5. When Chee asks Largo if he's concerned with the missing fifty minutes that Johnson is concerned about, why does Largo admit he's not concerned with the missing minutes?

6. When questioned by the dead pilot's attorney, how does Chee justify his conclusion as to where the plane had previously landed and taken off?

7. As Chee studies the tracks left on the ground in the wash, what does Chee deduce about the hidden car?

8. After Johnson handcuffs Chee in Chee's trailer, what does Johnson insist that Chee keep in mind?

9. What happened on the day that Chee first met the owner of the Burnt Water Trading Post?

10. What is the first rule of collecting gossip according to the owner of the Burnt Water Trading Post?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The author uses several different literary techniques as the story is told in regard to the story's flow. Describe the techniques of both flashbacks and foreshadowing. How are each of these techniques used in the story? Give specific examples of each technique. Why might the author have chosen to use both of these techniques in the story? Was the story enhanced by the use of these two techniques? Why or why not?

Essay Topic 2

There are several characters introduced in the story who do not survive until 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 impact 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

Jake West employs many sinister techniques to make sure the people involved in his scheme end up exactly where they are supposed to end up.

a. Identify three methods that West uses to keep the other characters in place.

b. How does the West hide his true motives and what does he have to gain by keeping his real purpose a secret? What does he have to lose by keeping his real purpose a secret?

c. What other methods might West have used to achieve his purpose? Would any of your methods have been as effective as West's plan in the story? Why or why not?

(see the answer keys)

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