View a FREE sample

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 date of Peter’s first diary entry in Chapter Thirty?

2. Where does Jeanne say Ben went to attend college in Chapter Fifty-six?

3. During what years of Eli’s life does Chapter Fifty-five span?

4. When does Eli McCullough describe a dozen Spanish cattle landing in the New World in Chapter Fifty-nine?

5. When was the first oil well drilled in Iraq, according to the narrator in Chapter Thirty-five?

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe Eli’s narrative tone in Chapter Forty. What are examples of humor used in the chapter?

2. How does the author illustrate Jeanne’s political connections in Chapter Thirty-five?

3. How does Jeanne come to be knocked unconscious in Chapter Sixty-nine?

4. How does the relationship between Hank and Jeanne develop in Chapter Thirty-two?

5. How does Peter respond to Maria’s presence and her need for help in Chapter Thirty?

6. What does Eli gain from the raid in Chapter Fifty-two? What do the Indians gain?

7. Why do you think that Maria tells Peter about the curse on the Garcia family in Chapter Forty-two?

8. Why do Eli’s troops raid the Federal soldiers in Chapter Fifty-two? What happens during the raid?

9. How is the character of Ulises Garcia introduced in Chapter Fifty-seven? What is Ulises’s objective?

10. Where is Eli working in 1864? How is his home described in Chapter Forty-nine?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Describe and discuss the characters of Corkie and Jonas in the novel. Where does Jeanne meet Corkie? What are her impressions of this character? How are Jeanne and Jonas similar? How do these characters differ?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the author’s historical depictions of the Indian raids in Texas in the 1840s. How frequently were homes attacked in the settlements that bordered on or crossed into Indian Territory? How did these raids impact Indian/Settler relations? How accurate are the author’s depictions of this era and the surrounding circumstances of both the settlers and the Native Americans?

Essay Topic 3

Describe and analyze Peter’s relationship with Sally in the novel. How did Peter and Sally meet? What was their courtship like? How would you describe their relationship after marriage? Why does Sally go to Dallas and how does Peter respond to her leaving?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 953 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample