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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 is the name of the horse Rayona rides in the rodeo?

2. How does Rayona often describe herself?

3. What is the name of Christine's best friend?

4. What is the name of the group the priests want Rayona to join?

5. What are Rayona and Christine drinking during visiting hours at the hospital?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Christine come to realize that she is being blamed for Lee's death?

2. Why does Christine return to Aunt Ida's while Rayona is in school?

3. What happens when Christine and Rayona go to the hospital with Aunt Ida to visit Clara?

4. Why is Christine in the hospital at the beginning of the novel?

5. What diagnosis does Christine get after she goes into the hospital for drinking too much?

6. What is Dayton and Lee's relationship like?

7. Why does Christine get so angry with Elgin when he comes to return the car keys at the hospital?

8. Why does Christine never have a second child?

9. Why does Christine ask the doctor for a deck of cards after he gives her the terminal diagnosis?

10. What is the significance of the cliff near Tacoma where Christine wants to commit suicide?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What does Aunt Ida mean when she says, "I never grow up, but I get old."? How is this also true in some ways for both Christine and Rayona?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss how Dorris uses Christine as the middle ground, the bridge between old stories and new beginnings, both literally and figuratively.

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the importance of ethnic identity throughout the novel in relation to the following characters: Rayona, Christine, Aunt Ida and Lee.

(see the answer keys)

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