Reservation Blues MCQs

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Author: Nasir Iqbal | Assistant Professor of English Literature
Updated on: November 21, 2025
Estimated Reading Time: 16 min

Reservation Blues MCQs

1. What is the only town on the Spokane Reservation?

A. Turtle Lake
B. Wellpinit
C. Arlee
D. Missoula

B. Wellpinit.
Wellpinit is identified as the only town on the reservation, surprising everyone by not being mapped.

2. How did the black stranger arrive at the reservation?

A. By helicopter
B. By fancy car
C. By accident
D. By bus

C. By accident.
In 111 years, nobody had ever arrived on the reservation by accident until he appeared.

3. What is the black man’s name?

A. Johnson, Robert
B. Gentleman, Mr
C. Victor, Joseph
D. Thomas, Jim

A. Johnson, Robert.
The black man tells Thomas Builds-the-Fire that his name is Robert Johnson.

4. What is Robert Johnson hiding from?

A. The police
B. The Gentleman
C. Tribal Council
D. His old friends

B. The Gentleman.
Johnson says he must be careful, as the Gentleman might hear him if he uses his hands.
5. What terrible deal did Johnson make years ago?

A. Sold his clothes
B. Caught a sickness
C. Sold his soul
D. Lost his guitar

C. Sold his soul.
Johnson confesses he sold his soul to the Gentleman to play his guitar better than anyone.

6. What type of church did a bear fall asleep in?

A. Presbyterian Church
B. Assembly of God
C. Catholic Church
D. Methodist Chapel

C. Catholic Church.
A bear once came out of hibernation early, climbed onto the Catholic Church roof, and fell asleep.

7. What is the name of the big old woman on the hill?

A. Big Mama
B. Big Mom
C. Bessie
D. Linda

B. Big Mom.
Thomas suggests Robert Johnson should visit Big Mom, who lives on top of Wellpinit Mountain.

8. What did Big Mom do after the horses stopped screaming?

A. Began running
B. Returned to work
C. Sang a new song
D. Called the officer

B. Returned to work.
After the silence that followed the horses’ song, Big Mom went back to her buckskin, beads, and CNN.

9. What instrument did Big Mom make from the horse bones?

A. A hand drum
B. A cedar flute
C. A violin
D. A saxophone

B. A cedar flute.
Big Mom built a flute from the ribs of the most beautiful horse she found after the massacre.
10. What famous musicians did Big Mom listen to?

A. Marvin Gaye
B. Jimi Hendrix
C. Janis Joplin
D. All of the above

D. All of the above.
The slaughtered horses returned in the form of musicians like Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, and Marvin Gaye.

11. Who is described as the “reservation John Travolta”?

A. Junior Polatkin
B. Thomas Builds-the-Fire
C. Victor Joseph
D. Lester FallsApart

C. Victor Joseph.
Victor still wears clothes from the disco era, earning him the nickname “reservation John Travolta”.

12. What is Junior Polatkin’s BIA job?

A. Water truck driver
B. Office clerk
C. Security guard
D. Accountant

A. Water truck driver.
Junior drives a water truck for the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA).

13. What did Victor and Junior leave permanently pressed in the sidewalk?

A. A dirty knife
B. Thomas’s face
C. A beer bottle
D. A guitar pick

B. Thomas’s face.
Victor and Junior pressed Thomas’s face into wet cement, leaving permanent scars.

14. What did Victor smash the guitar against?

A. A big rock
B. The Trading Post
C. The sidewalk
D. Thomas’s head

C. The sidewalk.
Victor picked up the guitar and smashed it against the sidewalk, breaking it.
15. What song did Thomas play to save his guitar?

A. “Jailhouse Rock”
B. “Cràzy”
C. “Falling to Pieces”
D. “I Will Survive”

C. “Falling to Pieces”.
Thomas sang the Patsy Cline song about falling to pieces to satisfy Victor’s challenge.

16. Why did Victor pull back from seriously hurting Thomas?

A. Junior stopped him
B. Victor’s short attention span
C. His father liked Thomas
D. He got scared

C. His father liked Thomas.
Victor’s natural father liked Thomas, causing Victor to pull back at the last second from inflicting serious injury.

17. What object did Thomas discover that had fixed itself overnight?

A. The water truck
B. Robert Johnson’s guitar
C. The house window
D. The old hand drum

B. Robert Johnson’s guitar.
The guitar, which Thomas had planned to use as firewood, fixed itself overnight outside the smokehouse.

18. What smell did the guitar say the blues created?

A. Wood smoke
B. Salmon
C. Cigarettes
D. Cheap beer

B. Salmon.
Thomas planned to smoke salmon with the guitar wood because the guitar said the smoke would make salmon taste like the blues.

19. What vision did Junior rely on for decisions?

A. Weather reports
B. Dreams and visions
C. Tribal elders
D. Victor’s opinion

B. Dreams and visions.
Junior, influenced by college psychology, based all his decisions on his dreams and visions.
20. Who is Simon, whom Junior and Victor visit?

A. The town mayor
B. A backward driver
C. Thomas’s uncle
D. A famous fisherman

B. A backward driver.
Simon only drives his pickup truck in reverse, which is parked on his lawn.

21. What creature did Thomas believe fed on failed dreams?

A. Cougars
B. Stick Indians
C. Giant turtles
D. Black bears

C. Giant turtles.
Tribal elders say the giant turtles living beneath the reservation feed on failed dreams.

22. Why did the Tribal Council receive government grants?

A. For the casino
B. To build monuments
C. For education
D. For healthcare

B. To build monuments.
The Tribal Council still built historical monuments because it received government grants for that purpose.

23. What was Victor’s reaction to Thomas’s offer to join the band?

A. He ran away
B. Wanted more money
C. Accepted instantly
D. Called it bullshit

D. Called it bullshit.
Victor shouted, “No fucking way,” because they were a warrior band.

24. How long had Big Mom been receiving the horses in her arms?

A. One generation
B. Seven generations
C. Many years
D. Since 1992

B. Seven generations.
Big Mom had been receiving those fallen horses and holding them in her arms for seven successive generations.
25. What did Victor and Junior trash after their first gig?

A. Irene’s Grocery
B. Their own HUD house
C. The water truck
D. Thomas’s van

B. Their own HUD house.
Victor and Junior destroyed their HUD house, emulating rock heroes who wrecked hotel rooms.

26. What specific items did Betty and Veronica wear?

A. Turquoise rings
B. Birkenstocks
C. Sundresses
D. All of the above

D. All of the above.
The two white women wore sundresses, Birkenstocks, and too much Indian jewellery, including turquoise rings.

27. What was Betty’s answer when Junior asked if he was her first Indian man?

A. She cried
B. She said no
C. She said yes
D. She kissed him

B. She said no.
When Junior asked if he was her first Indian man, Betty replied, “No,” having been with a few others.

28. What was the name of Betty and Veronica’s Seattle bookstore?

A. White Shadows
B. Doppelgangers
C. Coyote Springs
D. New Age Dreams

B. Doppelgangers.
Betty and Veronica owned a New Age bookstore in Seattle called “Doppelgangers,” meaning twins or shadow.

29. What was the band’s name after Coyote proved his strength?

A. Bloodthirsty Savages
B. Coyote Springs
C. Coyote Springs
D. Red Wolf Trio

B. Coyote Springs.
After Coyote stole the water truck, the band accepted the name Coyote Springs.
30. Why did Thomas stop covering Buddy Holly songs?

A. They were too sad
B. Buddy wasn’t in Spokane
C. Victor hated them
D. They were too slow

B. Buddy wasn’t in Spokane.
Thomas decided they needed original songs because Buddy Holly wasn’t a Spokane Indian.

31. What traditional food was the subject of an annual contest?

A. Venison stew
B. Huckleberry pie
C. Fry bread
D. Salmon

C. Fry bread.
The trìbe held an annual fry bread cooking contest, with Big Mom winning for 37 consecutive years.

32. Why did Victor believe Mick Jagger was at the Tipi Pole Tavern?

A. He was lost
B. The lead singer only
C. He needed money
D. He drove backwards

B. The lead singer only.
Victor joked that without Keith Richards, Jagger would be performing alone at the Tipi Pole Tavern.

33. What was the Flathead sister, Checkers, known for?

A. Her selective ear
B. Her love for young bucks
C. Her great beauty
D. Her long hair

C. Her great beauty.
Checkers was described as the most beautiful Indian woman on the Flathead Reservation.

34. What was the Flathead sister, Chess, known for?

A. Her aggressive personality
B. Planning her moves
C. Her broken nose
D. Her lack of hair

B. Planning her moves.
Chess lived up to her nickname by planning all her moves in advance, like a game.
35. Why did Chess’s father start drinking heavily?

A. Lost his job
B. Backgammon died
C. Linda left him
D. He was an alcòholic

B. Backgammon died.
Chess noted her father never drank much before the death of her baby brother, Backgammon.

36. What did Chess and Checkers drink after their sodas exploded?

A. Water only
B. Whiskey
C. Snow and Pepsi
D. Coffee

C. Snow and Pepsi.
After their Pepsis froze and exploded, the sisters ate the soda-stained snow.

37. What was Checkers’ “Indian” reason for disliking white women dating Indian men?

A. Preservation
B. Revenge
C. Tradition
D. Wealth

A. Preservation.
Chess stated it was about “preservation” because there aren’t many Indian men available.

38. What did Thomas say happened to his mother?

A. Stomach cancer
B. Died of old age
C. Car wreck
D. Heart attack

A. Stomach cancer.
Thomas confirmed that his mother died of stomach cancer, having quit drinking before her death.

39. What shocking news did Thomas receive during the New Year’s Eve party?

A. His mother was sick
B. Junior’s parents died
C. The house was burning
D. He was pregnant

B. Junior’s parents died.
Junior’s parents died in a car wreck on the way home from the chaotic New Year’s Eve party.
40. What was the Tribal Chairman David WalksAlong’s motivation for hating Thomas?

A. Thomas’s poor grades
B. Thomas’s father’s basketball skills
C. Thomas’s drinking
D. Thomas’s goofy look

B. Thomas’s father’s basketball skills.
WalksAlong was jealous because Thomas’s father, Samuel, was a better basketball player and got the women.

41. Who was Michael White Hawk’s uncle?

A. Thomas Builds-the-Fire
B. David WalksAlong
C. Victor Joseph
D. Father Arnold

B. David WalksAlong.
Michael White Hawk refers to WalksAlong as “Uncle” after being released from prison.

42. What object did the police officer in Vantage require for identification?

A. Driver’s licenses
B. Tribal card
C. Victor’s tattoo
D. All of the above

D. All of the above.
Thomas and the women showed licenses, Junior showed his Tribal license, and Victor showed his tattoo.

43. Who was the white man who rescued Checkers from Phil Sheridan in her dream?

A. Thomas
B. Junior
C. George Wright
D. Father Arnold

C. George Wright.
George Wright knocks on the door, interrupting Sheridan’s assault on Checkers in her dream.

44. Who was the first person to realise Checkers was sleeping with her light on?

A. Chess
B. Thomas
C. Her father
D. Father Arnold

B. Thomas.
Thomas noticed Checkers’ light on and inquired, leading to the revelation of her habit.
45. What was the result of the Battle of the Bands contest?

A. Coyote Springs won
B. Coyote Springs lost
C. Coyote Springs withdrew
D. The judges argued

B. Coyote Springs lost.
The band failed their audition/contest because Mr Armstrong said, “They don’t have it,” and left.

46. Who were the two white women serving as backup singers at the New York gig?

A. Helda and Linda
B. Betty and Veronica
C. Susan and Mary
D. Maggie and Sue

B. Betty and Veronica.
Betty and Veronica were the white women who joined the band and followed them to New York.

47. What was Checkers’ major reason for returning to the church choir?

A. She hated rock
B. She missed Chess
C. She wanted salvation
D. She loved Father Arnold

D. She loved Father Arnold.
Checkers stayed on the reservation for Father Arnold, admitting she was in love with him.

48. What did Robert Johnson hand Big Mom before walking down the mountain?

A. His old guitar
B. A feather
C. A cedar harmonica
D. Money

C. A cedar harmonica.
Johnson received a cedar harmonica from Big Mom, recognising his true talent.

49. How did Junior Polatkin kill himself?

A. Hanging
B. Poison
C. Rifle shot
D. Drowning

C. Rifle shot.
Junior stole Simon’s loaded rifle and shot himself while sitting atop the empty water tower,,.
50. What did Big Mom use to feed 200 Indians with only 100 pieces of fry bread?

A. Prayer
B. Magic
C. Mathematics
D. Stolen food

C. Mathematics.
Big Mom tore each piece of fry bread in half, stating her secret was mathematics, not magic.

Brief Overview

Reservation Blues, a novel by Sherman Alexie, was published in 1995. It is a work of Magic Realism that examines Native American identity, the struggle between hope and despair, and the intersection of cultures through the lens of a blues band on a reservation.

The novel centers on three Spokane Indian men: Thomas Builds-the-Fire, Victor Joseph, and Junior Polatkin. They live on the Spokane Indian Reservation. Thomas is a misfit storyteller who tries to maintain old traditions.

A mysterious Black man named Robert Johnson appears in their town, Wellpinit, carrying a guitar. Johnson had famously sold his soul to “the Gentleman” so he could play guitar well. Johnson is now searching for an old woman named Big Mom, who lives on a mountain and may be able to help him with his problem.

Thomas takes Johnson to Big Mom’s mountain. Johnson leaves his magic guitar behind with Thomas. Thomas, Victor, and Junior start a band called Coyote Springs, with Thomas as the lead singer. The guitar’s music is powerful and dangerous.

The band travels to Seattle to play but fails an audition. They return home defeated. Junior later tragically kills himself with a rifle. Thomas and his girlfriend, Chess Warm Water, decide to leave the reservation after Junior’s burial.

Big Mom gives them money and advice. Robert Johnson stays on the reservation and finds a home there. Thomas, Chess, and Checkers leave for the city of Spokane, looking for a better life.

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