Motorcycles and Sweetgrass

Multiple Choice and Long Answer questions create ideal opportunities for whole-book review, unit exam, or summative assessments.

Multiple Choice

1. Who functions as a foil for Nanabush?

A) Jesus

B) Wayne

C) Virgil

D) Sammy

2. What does the novel point to as a primary cause for contemporary Native people’s lack of belief in Nanabush?

A) Ambition

B) Education

C) Assimilation

D) Bigotry

3. Which of Nanabush’s characteristics is conveyed through incidents like his reaction to Maggie’s need to work instead of having lunch with him and his seduction of the anonymous Indigenous woman in the city?

A) His sense of humor

B) His childishness

C) His connection to culture

D) His disdain for rules

4. Which best characterizes Nanabush’s perception of his relationship to Jesus?

A) He sees Jesus as a rival.

B) He sees Jesus as a colleague.

C) He sees Jesus as a useful tool.

D) He sees Jesus as an enemy.

5. Throughout the novel, what is Nanabush’s primary reason for being involved with Maggie and Virgil?

A) His desire to be part of a family

B) His desire to be believed in again

C) His desire to remedy the effects of oppression

D) His desire to keep his promise to Lillian

6. Which of the following most clearly suggests that Nanabush’s dream about talking with Jesus has some basis in reality?

A) Nanabush’s transformation into the form of a Native man