The Night Watchman Quizzes

The Night Watchman Quiz 1

1 Who is the title character of the novel?
Doris Lauder

Wood Mountain

Thomas Wazhashk

Patrice Paranteau
2 What is Patrice's main conflict throughout the novel?
Getting a promotion at her factory

Finding and saving her older sister, Vera

Falling in love with Wood Mountain

Getting into college
3 What is the name of the tribe to which the characters belong?
Lakota

Cherokee Nation

Navajo Nation

Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa
4 What preoccupies Thomas during his night watch?
Thinking about his old classmate who occasionally haunts him

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

Working extra hard to get a promotion

Worrying about money and his family
5 How long have Rose and Thomas been married?
22 years

28 years

30 years

33 years
6 Why does Patrice go to Minneapolis?
To find better work

To live with her sister

To find her older sister who has gone missing

To go to school
7 Whom do both Barnes and Wood Mountain have romantic feelings for?
Doris Lauder

Valentine

Patrice

Vera
8 Which domestic activity does Pixie most enjoy doing?
Washing clothes

Sweeping the floor

Chopping wood

Sewing
9 What is the relationship between Patrice and Thomas?
Thomas is Patrice's boss at the factory.

Thomas is a family friend of Patrice's family.

Thomas is Patrice's at-home teacher.

Thomas is her uncle and Patrice is his niece.
10 What is Juggie Blue's relationship to Wood Mountain?
Juggie is Wood Mountain's grandmother.

Juggie is Wood Mountain's caretaker.

Juggie is Wood Mountain's mother.

Juggie is Wood Mountain's aunt.
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?
An old friend who was killed by a local sheriff

A cousin who died from alcoholism

A former colleague who died from an accident at the factory

An old classmate who was placed in a cellar by a missionary schoolteacher and died
13 What positive physical trait does Patrice consistently note about Doris Lauder?
Her perfumed smell

Her laugh

Her blonde hair

Her heart-shaped face
14 Why does Patrice nearly get in trouble on her first train ride?
She gets off at the wrong station.

She spills her lunch on her neighbor.

She refuses to go to the bathroom.

She refuses to change seats with the wife of a neighboring man.
15 How does Patrice survive when she goes to Minneapolis?
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.

She works as a waitress at a diner.
16 Who is Zhaanat?
A coworker of Patrice

The wife of Thomas

The mother of Patrice, Vera, and Pokey

A schoolteacher of Patrice
17 Why does Patrice dislike being called "Pixie"?
Pixie is what her alcoholic dad calls her.

Pixie sounds too white.

Pixie reminds her too much of her older sister, who gave her that nickname.

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

Valentine gives Patrice her sick days.

Her coworkers all demand one week of paid time off.
19 What euphemism does House Concurrent Resolution 108, the termination bill, use that Thomas notices?
Emancipation

Liberty

Freedom

Equality
20 Who is Thomas' primary antagonist?
Arthur V. Watkins

Wood Mountain

Barnes the boxing coach

Roderick the ghost
21 What job does Juggie Blue have?
She works as a caretaker and cook for the schoolteachers.

She works as a school clerk.

She works as a cook at a local diner.

She works as a healer.
22 What is one goal that Patrice has for her life?
To become rich

To become famous

To attend college

To marry well
23 What spurs Patrice to go to Minneapolis and look for her sister?
She has a dream that her sister is in danger.

She receives a letter from her sister.

She hears from a cousin that her sister was spotted.

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 has many connections in Minneapolis and can use them to find her.

Gerald can help heal a sick family member.

Gerald can call upon the spirits and learn where Vera is located.
25 Who wins the first boxing match in the novel?
No one

Lloyd Barnes

Joe Wobleszynski (Wobble)

Wood Mountain

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