The Night Watchman

Reading Check questions are designed for in-class review on key plot points or for quick verbal or written assessments. Multiple Choice and Short Answer Quizzes create ideal summative assessments, and collectively function to convey a sense of the work’s tone and themes.

Chapters 1-10

Reading Check

1. Where does Patrice work?

2. Name one of Thomas’s jobs.

3. Who and where is Vera?

4. Who does Thomas see while at work?

Multiple Choice

1. The notion that being named after the muskrat is perfect for Thomas is an example of what?

A) assonance

B) foreshadowing

C) metaphor

D) imagery

2. Why does Patrice want to stop going by “Pixie”?

A) She thinks that Pixie is a silly name.

B) She always hated the name.

C) She feels like she is an adult now and should go by her full name.

D) She feels like it’s time for a change and might go back to the name one day.

3. What does Patrice’s desire for a watch say about her family’s situation?

A) It tells us that they are dependent on her keeping her job.

B) It tells us that they are not willing to buy a clock.

C) It tells us that they have a lot of free time.

D) It tells us that they don’t follow a schedule.

4. What does it mean when Moses says, “They mean to drop us” (23)?

A) The government is finally going to leave them alone.

B) The government is going to take the rest of their land.

C) The government is going to pull financial support.

D) The government is going to ignore the problems on the reservation.

5. What can be inferred from Valentine’s assertion that she’s “all contradictions”?

A) She and Patrice are not friends.

B) She and Patrice have a complicated relationship.

C) She would normally keep her days for herself.

D) She would not give her days to anyone besides Patrice.

Short-Answer Response

Answer each of the following questions in a complete sentence or sentences. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. Why doesn’t Thomas tell LaBatte about seeing Roderick?

2. Why is Patrice’s job at the jewel bearing factory important for her family?

3. How does Patrice learn that Vera has a child?

4. What does Wood Mountain and Joe Wobleszynski’s boxing match symbolize? How do you know?

5. How is Patrice able to go look for Vera?

Chapters 11-20

Reading Check

1. Who drives Patrice to the train station?

2. Why does Barnes walk Pokey inside when he drops him off?

3. Who sits next to Patrice on the train?

4. What wakes Thomas up at work?

Multiple Choice

1. What does it mean that Thomas speaks to his father in Chippewa about the new bill?

A) They need to have a more complex conversation, which Chippewa allows for.

B) Biboon only speaks Chippewa, so Thomas doesn’t have a choice.

C) They don’t want anyone else to understand them.

D) They want to come up with their own solution.

2. Which of these reasons best explains Doris’s motives for asking Patrice about Bucky Duvalle?

A) She wants to spread a rumor about Patrice.

B) She has a crush on Bucky and wants to make sure that Patrice isn’t pursuing him.

C) She knows Bucky because her brother is friends with him.

D) She is jealous of Patrice.

3. Why does Thomas have to ensure that the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa “remain a problem” (80)?

A) He needs to gather more information about the situation on the reservation.

B) He wants to solve the problem himself.

C) He wants to make sure that the government doesn’t essentially erase them.

D) He needs to prevent the bill from passing.

4. Which of these best describes Barnes’s view of Indigenous people?

A) He understands the struggles of Indigenous people.

B) He bases his understanding of Indigenous people off of stereotypes.

C) He is eager to learn more about Indigenous people.

D) He is biased against Indigenous people.

5. What is the most likely reason that Wood Mountain says he is worried about Patrice?

A) He knows that Patrice does not have a lot of experience outside of the reservation.

B) He knows something about Vera’s disappearance and doesn’t want the same thing to happen to Patrice.

C) He believes that it was a mistake for Patrice to go looking for Vera on her own.

D) He wants to manipulate Patrice into going home.

6. What does Thomas mean when he says he is part of the “after-the-buffalo-who-are-we-now-generation” (98)?

A) He needs to figure out what to do about this bill.

B) He hopes that he will be able to save the tribe.

C) His life has been a mix of American and Indigenous traditions.

D) He has to figure out what it means to be an Indigenous American as the US tries harder and harder to take Indigenous land.

Short-Answer Response

Answer each of the following questions in a complete sentence or sentences. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. How long were the treaties that Thomas’s family had negotiated supposed to last?

2. How is Barnes’s vision of Indigenous women challenged by Zhaanat and Patrice?

3. Why does Thomas switch out the word “emancipation” with “termination” when reading the bill?

4. Why did Thomas’s mother cut his hair before he left for boarding school?

Chapters 21-29

Reading Check

1. How does Patrice get to Log Jam 26?

2. Where does Wood Mountain buy a ticket to after leaving Fargo?

3. How was Thomas poisoned?

4. How does Patrice get into the house on Bloomington Avenue?

Multiple Choice

1. What is the most likely reason that Patrice takes the job at Log Jam 26 despite her concerns for her safety?

A) She wants to quit her job at the jewel bearing plant.

B) She knows it will help provide for her family.

C) She doesn’t have anywhere else to stay.

D) She is trying to get a better understanding of city life.

2. Why does Biboon tell Thomas that he should get support from other towns and the state government to prevent the Termination Bill from passing?

A) because they will not want to bear the financial burden the bill will put on them

B) because they will help make sure that Indigenous rights are not infringed upon

C) because they have helped the Turtle Mountain band of Chippewa in the past

D) because they promised to enforce the treaties regardless

3. What does Jack imply about Bernadette Blue?

A) that she owes him money

B) that she will only cause Patrice more trouble

C) that she knows where Vera is

D) that Patrice can trust her

4. Why does Patrice feel like a “stranger” to herself?

A) She feels changed by being in the city and is considering leaving the reservation.

B) She is worried that she is being used by Jack.

C) She doesn’t recognize herself because she has had to negotiate payment and boarding conditions.

D) She doesn’t think that her mother would recognize her.

5. Why does Wood Mountain tell Barnes that he’s considering going to the Cities to find Patrice?

A) He is in love with Patrice and thinks that Barnes will support him.

B) He wants to be talked out of it, especially because he’s worried his mother wouldn’t approve.

C) He hopes that Barnes will come with him to help find Vera.

D) He is angry at Barnes because his fight was cancelled and wants to make him jealous.

6. What is implied during Thomas and Louis’s conversation about people who move to the Twin Cities?

A) The community is glad that they are getting out.

B) The community is proud of all of the young people for surviving.

C) The community needs more of them to stay to ensure it survives.

D) The community needs them to help mobilize support in cities.

Short-Answer Response

Answer each of the following questions in a complete sentence or sentences. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. What suggestion does Biboon have for fighting the Termination Bill?

2. What does Patrice learn at Bloomington Avenue?

3. Why is Rose so nervous about Thomas having a drink?

4. How does Erdrich continue to build suspense in these chapters?

Chapters 30-40

Reading Check

1. Who does Juggie ask for a joke for the tribal newsletter?

2. What is Wood Mountain’s real name?

3. Name a member of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa other than Thomas who attends the hearing.

4. Approximately how many votes are there against the Termination Bill at the hearing?

Multiple Choice

1. Why is Thomas so interested in the two missionaries?

A) He has been thinking about converting to the Mormon church.

B) He wants them to understand Indigenous culture better.

C) He wants them to join his fight against the Termination Bill.

D) He wants to learn more about Arthur V. Watkins, who is a Mormon like them.

2. What is one lesson that can be taken from the story of Thomas’s name?

A) that everything will work out in the end

B) that you can’t depend on anyone besides the Wazhashks

C) that the muskrat gave everything to help create a new world

D) that you don’t have to give your life to be a good person

3. What does Patrice realize about herself and the other past waterjacks?

A) that Jack will kill all of them, if given the chance

B) that Jack only hired Indigenous women

C) that the money she was paid was fake

D) that the suit is turning her blue because it’s poisoning her

4. What might be the real reason Patrice doesn’t want to give the baby a name?

A) She doesn’t want to confuse him if he already has a name.

B) She wants to believe that one day Vera will be able to tell them what it is because she needs to believe that Vera is alive.

C) She can’t think of a good enough name.

D) She thinks that, if anyone is going to name him, it should be Zhaanat.

Short-Answer Response

Answer each of the following questions in a complete sentence or sentences. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. What happened to Roderick and what does this have to do with LaBatte?

2. How does Arthur V. Watkins’s faith relate to his goals with the Termination Bill?

3. Why is Thomas so moved by the number of people who show up to the hearing?

4. What is one thing that Barnes learns during his conversation with Thomas in Chapter 39? Why is this an important scene?

Chapters 41-50

Reading Check

1. What does Thomas suggest when Patrice tells him about what she learned in Minneapolis?

2. Who is crowned homecoming queen?

3. Who are the three women Barnes is torn between?

4. Who helps Wood Mountain train?

5. Who is the “Chippewa Scholar”?

Multiple Choice

1. Why does falling down remind Thomas of the United States?

A) He believes that, in America, people always have the chance to get back up.

B) He believes that the government will always try to keep Indigenous peoples down.

C) He believes that the fight against the Termination Bill is for nothing.

D) He believes that the government is out to kill him.

2. What does Patrice realize about Valentine when she is crowned Homecoming Queen?

A) that she is the best friend that Patrice will ever have

B) that she is in love with Barnes

C) that she isn’t reliable

D) that she and Patrice will not be friends in five years

3. What does Barnes mean when he says that Doris is a “known quantity”?

A) He is referring to the fact that he has dated other factory workers before.

B) He is referring to her as a white woman rather than an Indigenous woman.

C) He has dated women similar to her in personality.

D) He thinks that she would be boring to date.

4. Why is it significant that Wood Mountain is making the cradle board for Vera’s baby?

A) It is meant to be a gift from the child’s godfather.

B) It is supposed to be made by a woman.

C) It is usually made by the child’s father.

D) It is an expensive task since it has to be made from scratch.

Short-Answer Response

Answer each of the following questions in a complete sentence or sentences. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. Why are Patrice and Zhaanat stunned by Thomas’s suggestion that they should contact the police?

2. What is important about the scene in which Thomas dances with the spirits?

3. How is Barnes able to convince Joe Wobble to fight Wood Mountain again?

4. Why is Millie touched by Thomas’s letter? What is he asking of her?

Chapters 51-63

Reading Check

1. Why does Wood Mountain feel guilty about lying about his hand?

2. What book does Thomas bring to work with him?

3. Who gets promoted at the jewel bearing plant?

4. What is the name of Harry’s dog?

Multiple Choice

1. Why does Biboon sit outside in the cold?

A) to be near his wife’s spirit

B) to feel connected to the earth

C) to wake himself up in the morning

D) to make sure he’s still living

2. What is the most likely reason that Joe Wobble and Wood Mountain pretend to be injured?

A) They each want the other to think that they have a weakness.

B) They each want the fight to be called off.

C) They each want to get a longer massage before the game.

D) They each want people to realize how dangerous boxing is.

3. What is the best description of the second fight between Wood Mountain and Joe Wobble?

A) Joe Wobble wins again, making everyone feel like their efforts to fight termination are useless.

B) Wood Mountain wins, finally defeating his rival and cementing the Turtle Mountain Chippewa’s victory over white settlers.

C) The fight descends into chaos, and no one knows who actually wins.

D) Wood Mountain wins, but it doesn’t matter since the two fighters beat each other down so much.

4. What is the choice to include Edith’s perspective on Vera an example of?

A) foreshadowing

B) magic realism

C) romanticism

D) modernism

5. Why does Zhaanat ask Thomas to make the grave house for Pogo?

A) She doesn’t want to do it because she is happy that he is gone.

B) She knows that it is part of his role as tribal chairman.

C) She knows that he will do it the traditional way.

D) She doesn’t want Pokey to have to do it.

Short-Answer Response

Answer each of the following questions in a complete sentence or sentences. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. How has Thomas heeded his father’s advice to “study hard because we need to know the enemy” (275)?

2. Why does Patrice believe that she can’t go to college?

3. What is the good news and what is the bad news about Millie’s report?

4. How does Patrice feel after napping near the bear?

5. Who does Patrice see during the night watch and what happens?

Chapters 64-74

Reading Check

1. Who goes with Patrice to the clinic when she gets an eye infection?

2. Who stays with Mrs. Hanson?

3. Who does Juggie set up with Barnes?

4. What does Pixie buy?

Multiple Choice

1. What is the most likely reason that Erdrich moves from character to character in Chapter 64?

A) to disorient the reader

B) to move through two months quickly

C) to show how Vera’s baby has grown

D) to lay the foundation for the rest of the novel

2. Why are both Patrice and Wood Mountain pleased about her response to his proposal?

A) They both know that she will say yes eventually.

B) Wood Mountain regrets asking, and Patrice knows that she will say no eventually, so they’re both glad she didn’t say anything.

C) Patrice is grateful that she didn’t say yes, and Wood Mountain is grateful she didn’t say no.

D) They aren’t sure if they’re ready to get married.

3. What does Patrice think is the reason that Bucky’s face became disfigured?

A) She believes that her hatred for him caused it.

B) She believes that Thomas hurt him after Bucky tried to rape her.

C) She believes that Zhaanat cast a spell on him.

D) She believes that Wood Mountain heard what happened and hit Bucky.

4. How does Roderick feel about being a ghost? 

A) He is grateful that he can watch over Thomas and LaBatte.

B) He is tired and wishes that he could rest.

C) He wants to use his power to explore the world.

D) He wants to be alive again.

5. What was the effect of the government only counting “full-blooded” Indigenous people on the reservation?

A) It made it seem like there were fewer people than there were.

B) It meant there was more funding allotted to the reservation.

C) It erased them from history.

D) It led to the government trying to help repopulate the land.

Short-Answer Response

Answer each of the following questions in a complete sentence or sentences. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. For Zhaanat, when did things start going wrong?

2. Why does Rose come with Thomas to work?

3. Why is Patrice additionally worried about what could happen if her eye infection worsened?

4. What does Millie think about her identity as an Indigenous person?

Chapters 75-85

Reading Check

1. Who does Wood Mountain say Patrice looks like with her glasses?

2. Who goes to Washington, D.C., as part of the delegation from the Turtle Mountain band of Chippewa?

3. Who does Roderick say Watkins reminds him of?

4. What happens to Thomas on the way home from the hearing?

Multiple Choice

1. What does Thomas see as the purpose of the Book of Mormon?

A) to evangelize and convert

B) to get rid of Indigenous Americans

C) to find common ground between cultures

D) to make and enact laws

2. Why is Barnes offended that Valentine calls him “scrawny”?

A) He wants her to think that he is attractive.

B) He is proud that he has lost weight since he has been working out more.

C) He feels like it means that he isn’t masculine enough.

D) He is just looking for a reason to choose Patrice over her.

3. What is significant about the idea that Patrice saw someone shot while in Washington rather than on the reservation, “a place considered savage by the rest of the country” (396)? 

A) It highlights the stereotypes held about the reservation and the violence done to Indigenous people.

B) It suggests that Patrice will be happier if she never leaves the reservation.

C) It implies that violence is continuously forgotten.

D) It shows how Patrice has become more aware of the world.

4. Why might Patrice have wanted to help the woman who protested on behalf of Puerto Rico?

A) because, like Patrice and her delegation, the woman was standing up to the U.S. government

B) because she had learned about Puerto Rico at school

C) because she was a woman, and Patrice knows how men take advantage of women

D) because she had asked Patrice for help

5. What does Watkins imply about Indigenous people when Thomas expresses that relocation won’t solve their problems?

A) He implies that it doesn’t matter to him one way or the other.

B) He implies that he hopes that their problems continue.

C) He implies that Indigenous people are lazy and that’s why there are so many problems.

D) He implies that Thomas is a poor leader.

Short-Answer Response

Answer each of the following questions in a complete sentence or sentences. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. Why does Patrice join the delegation to Washington?

2. What format is the chapter detailing the hearing in?

3. Why does Thomas go to talk to Watkins during the break?

4. What question from the hearing does Thomas keep thinking about?

5. Why is Wood Mountain concerned when Vera returns?

Chapter 86-Epilogue

Reading Check

1. What occupation does Patrice ask Millie about?

2. Who picks up Mille, Thomas, and Patrice from the Cities?

3. Who wants to hire Zhaanat?

4. Where does Roderick end up at the end of the novel?

5. Which creature does Thomas sign his cards with at the end of the novel?

Multiple Choice

1. Why might Millie have been disappointed by Patrice’s suggestion that they be sisters?

A) She only wants to be her friend.

B) She doesn’t believe that Patrice means it.

C) She is attracted to Patrice, even though she doesn’t fully understand her sexuality.

D) She hoped that Zhaanat would ask.

2. What is Thomas’s inability to remember the word “rafters” an example of?

A) characterization

B) foreshadowing

C) irony

D) allusion

3. What is the most likely reason that Erdrich returns to her grandfather in the Epilogue?

A) It reminds readers that, while fictionalized, termination was a real threat to the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa.

B) It suggests that everything that happened in the novel was true without using characters’ real names.

C) It tells readers that we never know what about history is real and what is not.

D) It shows that these events could have happened to anyone.

4. What is the significance of Patrice and Zhaanat’s last scene where they drink birchbark sap?  

A) It shows how Patrice feels more connected to her community and her family at the end of the novel.

B) It illustrates their persistence despite all of the trials of the novel.

C) It symbolizes the connection to the earth and its energizing force.

D) It suggests that Vera will disappear again because she is not included.

Short-Answer Response

Answer each of the following questions in a complete sentence or sentences. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. Why is Patrice allowed in Thomas’s hospital room even though no one else is?

2. What does Thomas compare being in the hospital to? Why?

3. Why is Thomas’s struggle with remembering certain words after his stroke significant?

4. Why does Patrice tell Wood Mountain to pursue Vera?