House Made of Dawn Test | Mid-Book Test - Hard

Buy the House Made of Dawn Lesson Plans
Name: _________________________ Period: ___________________


Short Answer Questions

1. Who was armed with a shotgun when they decided to go shoot gray geese?

2. Tosamah's grandmother was ____________ eight or ten years after the surrender of the Kiowa.

3. Abel came upon a(n) ___________ house, a small tower of stone built around a pit, hollow and open at the top.

4. What would Nicolas teah-whau beg for at the side of the road of others who passed?

5. At ___________, Francisco and Abel waited for dawn at the house of Juliano Medina.

Short Essay Questions

1. What were some of the things the sun could teach the grandsons about, according to Francisco?

2. What did Milly's father do for her in order to give her the best life she could hope to have?

3. What happened during the summer and the autumn rain retreats, according to the stories in the book?

4. What does Abel see as he is looking out over the rim of the Valle Grande?


6. Who is the Priest of the Sun, who appears at the beginning of this second chapter of the book?

7. How did Abel and Ben meet each other for the first time, as Ben recalls it during a trip down memory lane?

8. What did Francisco do to the bear after he finally tracked him down in the forest and then killed him?



Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The theme of running is also something which appears at various parts of the book as well.

Part 1: Why is the theme of running important in this story?

Part 2: How does running affect the life of Abel specifically?

Part 3: Which characters are 'running' in this story, in a figurative sense? Why?

Essay Topic 2

It's obvious that Momaday cares deeply for the Native American culture and its preservation, which makes sense as he is also of Native American descent.

Part 1: How do you think Momaday portrays Native Americans? In a positive way or in a negative way?

Part 2: How do you think Momaday's own cultural background may have influenced his storytelling?

Part 3: Had the author not been Native American, how might the story have changed?

Essay Topic 3

There are vast differences between the older and the newer generations of Native Americans in this story.

Part 1: Compare and contrast the older and newer generations of Native Americans in this story.

Part 2: Do you think the newer generation of Native Americans is hopeful? Why or why not?

Part 3: What does Momaday seem to be saying for the future of Native Americans?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 710 words
(approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page)
Buy the House Made of Dawn Lesson Plans
Follow Us on Facebook