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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. After digging his grandmother's grave, what does the coming storm make the narrator ponder?

2. While Mose and the narrator are herding cattle, what goes wrong?

3. When the narrator goes to visit Yellow Calf for the second time, what has changed about him?

4. How old is Mose when he dies?

5. While the narrator is trying to rescue the cow, what other animal appears nearby to watch?

Short Essay Questions

1. After the narrator's grandmother dies, what is the mood of her family?

2. What complicates the narrator's attempt to save the cow at the end of the book?

3. While Mose and the narrator are herding cattle, what contributes to Mose's death?

4. After the narrator spends several days in Havre, what does he finally want to do, and why?

5. While the narrator is digging his grandmother's grave, what does he remember about his father?

6. When Ferdinand Horn and his wife come to offer condolences, why does the wife seem so interested in the narrator's girlfriend and how does the narrator react?

7. After the narrator digs his grandmother's grave, what does he begin to think about, and what effect do his thoughts have on him?

8. After the narrator sleeps with Marlene, what is different about him?

9. Why does the narrator treat Marlene badly?

10. At the very end of the book, what does the narrator determine to do and how is this different from the beginning of the book?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

How does Teresa's memory and attitudes towards his father affect the narrator? Is her influence on him positive or negative? Why?

Essay Topic 2

During the story, the narrator is drunk, robbed, beaten, and nearly arrested. How much of the narrator's background contributes to his misfortune? How much is the result of his own choices?

Essay Topic 3

What is the narrator's opinion of the outside world? Recalling the encounters that the narrator has with the outside world, is his opinion warranted?

(see the answer keys)

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