The Night Watchman Quizzes

The Night Watchman Quiz 1

1 Who is the title character of the novel?

Patrice Paranteau

Doris Lauder

Thomas Wazhashk

Wood Mountain
2 What is Patrice's main conflict throughout the novel?

Falling in love with Wood Mountain

Finding and saving her older sister, Vera

Getting into college

Getting a promotion at her factory
3 What is the name of the tribe to which the characters belong?

Navajo Nation

Cherokee Nation

Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa

Lakota
4 What preoccupies Thomas during his night watch?

Writing letters to people in power to persuade them to help Turtle Mountain

Worrying about money and his family

Thinking about his old classmate who occasionally haunts him

Working extra hard to get a promotion
5 How long have Rose and Thomas been married?

22 years

30 years

33 years

28 years
6 Why does Patrice go to Minneapolis?

To find her older sister who has gone missing

To go to school

To live with her sister

To find better work
7 Whom do both Barnes and Wood Mountain have romantic feelings for?

Vera

Valentine

Doris Lauder

Patrice
8 Which domestic activity does Pixie most enjoy doing?

Sweeping the floor

Washing clothes

Chopping wood

Sewing
9 What is the relationship between Patrice and Thomas?

Thomas is a family friend of Patrice's family.

Thomas is her uncle and Patrice is his niece.

Thomas is Patrice's at-home teacher.

Thomas is Patrice's boss at the factory.
10 What is Juggie Blue's relationship to Wood Mountain?

Juggie is Wood Mountain's aunt.

Juggie is Wood Mountain's caretaker.

Juggie is Wood Mountain's grandmother.

Juggie is Wood Mountain's mother.
11 What job does Barnes have?

Science teacher and wrestling coach

Math teacher and boxing coach

English teacher and boxing coach

P.E. teacher and wrestling coach
12 Who is the ghost that haunts Thomas?

A former colleague who died from an accident at the factory

An old friend who was killed by a local sheriff

An old classmate who was placed in a cellar by a missionary schoolteacher and died

A cousin who died from alcoholism
13 What positive physical trait does Patrice consistently note about Doris Lauder?

Her heart-shaped face

Her blonde hair

Her perfumed smell

Her laugh
14 Why does Patrice nearly get in trouble on her first train ride?

She gets off at the wrong station.

She refuses to change seats with the wife of a neighboring man.

She spills her lunch on her neighbor.

She refuses to go to the bathroom.
15 How does Patrice survive when she goes to Minneapolis?

She works as a waitress at a diner.

She works as a waterjack in a bar.

She works as a sex worker at a brothel.

She stays with her cousin for free and spends her savings.
16 Who is Zhaanat?

The mother of Patrice, Vera, and Pokey

The wife of Thomas

A coworker of Patrice

A schoolteacher of Patrice
17 Why does Patrice dislike being called "Pixie"?

Pixie is what her alcoholic dad calls her.

Pixie sounds too white.

She thinks Pixie is a juvenile name and doesn't suit her worldly ambitions.

Pixie reminds her too much of her older sister, who gave her that nickname.
18 How is Patrice able to get off work to go to Minneapolis?

She quits her job at the factory.

She begs her boss to let her go on unpaid leave for a few days.

Her coworkers all demand one week of paid time off.

Valentine gives Patrice her sick days.
19 What euphemism does House Concurrent Resolution 108, the termination bill, use that Thomas notices?

Liberty

Freedom

Equality

Emancipation
20 Who is Thomas' primary antagonist?

Barnes the boxing coach

Roderick the ghost

Arthur V. Watkins

Wood Mountain
21 What job does Juggie Blue have?

She works as a caretaker and cook for the schoolteachers.

She works as a cook at a local diner.

She works as a healer.

She works as a school clerk.
22 What is one goal that Patrice has for her life?

To become famous

To attend college

To become rich

To marry well
23 What spurs Patrice to go to Minneapolis and look for her sister?

She receives a letter from her sister.

She hears from a cousin that her sister was spotted.

She has a dream that her sister is in danger.

She receives a note from a friend saying that her sister was spotted.
24 Why does Zhaanat ask her cousin Gerald to visit?

Gerald can help tutor Patrice while she is out of school.

Gerald can call upon the spirits and learn where Vera is located.

Gerald can help heal a sick family member.

Gerald has many connections in Minneapolis and can use them to find her.
25 Who wins the first boxing match in the novel?

No one

Joe Wobleszynski (Wobble)

Wood Mountain

Lloyd Barnes

Study Guide for The Night Watchman

The Night Watchman study guide contains a biography of Louise Erdrich, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis.

Read the Study Guide for The Night Watchman …

The Night Watchman

by Louise Erdrich

The Night Watchman Quiz 1

The Night Watchman Questions and Answers

Study Guide for The Night Watchman

Lesson Plan for The Night Watchman