1. Rain Clouds and Invalid's Story
Multiple Choice
Identify the letter of the choice that best completes the statement or answers the question.
Critical Reading
____ 1. “The Man to Send Rain Clouds” makes a statement about the
a. demanding role of Christian missionaries.
b. difficulty of resolving conflicts between cultures.
c. Pueblo Indians’ refusal to accept Christian traditions.
d. power of death to bring together different cultures.
____ 2. In “The Man to Send Rain Clouds,” one can assume from Leon’s and Ken’s responses to finding Teofilo that
the Pueblo Indians view death with ____.
a. joy c. acceptance
b. sadness d. anger
____ 3. Which of the following is the most important example of the cultural setting in which “The Man to Send
Rain Clouds” takes place?
a. The candles and medicine bags of the old men
b. The brass lamp that hangs in Father Paul’s living room
c. The missionary magazine that Father Paul reads
d. The pickup truck that Leon and Ken drive out to the sheep camp
____ 4. In “The Man to Send Rain Clouds,” what leads Louise to have Father Paul sprinkle holy water on Teofilo’s
grave?
a. Her concern for Teofilo
b. Her desire to make the priest feel useful
c. Her anger about how Teofilo died
d. Her guilt about the lack of Christian ceremonies
____ 5. The conflict between the Pueblo and Christian cultures in “The Man to Send Rain Clouds” is evident when
a. Leon tells Father Paul the Last Rites weren’t necessary.
b. Leon dresses Teofilo in a new flannel shirt and new jeans.
c. Father Paul welcomes Leon into his house.
d. Father Paul and Leon walk to the graveyard.
____ 6. Which of the following is the most important reason why Father Paul refuses at first to bring holy water to the
grave in “The Man to Send Rain Clouds”?
a. He is afraid he will not be welcome.
b. He has not performed the Last Rites.
c. He is angry he wasn’t told about Teofilo’s death.
d. He does not hold funeral Masses for Pueblos.
____ 7. Which of the following statements reflects Father Paul’s relationship with the Pueblos in “The Man to Send
Rain Clouds”?
a. Both sides are eager to meet each other half way.
b. There is much warmth and understanding between Father Paul and the Pueblos.
c. It is a relationship marked by tension and hostility.
d. The relationship is rarely close and often difficult.
____ 8. Of the following sentences from “The Man to Send Rain Clouds,” which creates an image that appeals to
your sense of touch?
a. The people stood close to each other with little clouds of steam puffing from their faces.
b. The priest stared down at his scuffed brown loafers and the worn hem of his cassock.
2. c. His fingers were stiff, and it took him a long time to twist the lid off the holy water.
d. Leon stared at the new moccasins that Teofilo had made for the ceremonial dances in the
summer.
____ 9. In what way are the Christian and Pueblo people in “The Man to Send Rain Clouds” alike?
a. Both have special ceremonies for the dead.
b. Both have rejected the past.
c. Each respects the beliefs of the other.
d. Both are concerned about the weather.
____ 10. In “The Man to Send Rain Clouds,” the reactions of Father Paul and Leon to the sprinkling of the holy water
suggest that
a. Leon has come to accept the importance of Christianity.
b. Father Paul thinks Leon has played a trick on him.
c. neither Leon nor Father Paul appreciates the other’s point of view.
d. the ceremony has narrowed the gap of understanding between the two men.
____ 11. The plot of “The Invalid’s Story” is based on confusion about
a. how long the friend has been dead. c. what is in the stranger’s bag.
b. what is in the box. d. how the narrator lost his health.
____ 12. The author set “The Invalid’s Story” in winter to
a. create a cheerless mood.
b. describe how the narrator’s friend died.
c. provide more opportunity for exaggeration.
d. explain why the train ride was slow.
____ 13. From the narrator’s point of view in “The Invalid’s Story,” the situation in the express car is ____.
a. curious c. shocking
b. embarrassing d. humorous
____ 14. Of the following sentences from “The Invalid’s Story,” which creates an image that appeals to your sense of
hearing?
a. Presently I began to detect a most evil and searching odor stealing about on the frozen air.
b. The expressman made a brisk remark or two about the tempest and the Arctic weather,
slammed his sliding doors to … and then went bustling around … all the time contentedly
humming …
c. Thompson sat down and buried his face in his red silk handkerchief, and began to slowly
sway and rock his body like one who is doing his best to endure the almost unendurable.
d. We puffed gingerly along for a while, and tried hard to imagine that things were improved.
____ 15. Thompson’s attitude toward the corpse in “The Invalid’s Story” is best described as one of
a. pleasure and affection. c. disgust and ridicule.
b. sympathy and surprise. d. amazement and concern.
____ 16. What is the main lesson of “The Invalid’s Story”?
a. The inevitability and power of death
b. The effect of mistaking appearance for reality
c. The fatal danger of overexposure to cold
d. The burden of fulfilling someone’s last wishes
Vocabulary and Grammar
____ 17. The narrator in”The Invalid’s Story” feels the heat of the stove will be ____ to his friend.
a. desultory c. judicious
b. ominous d. deleterious
____ 18. In “The Invalid’s Story,” when Thompson stops humming, there is a(n) ____ silence.
3. a. ominous c. judicious
b. desultory d. deleterious
Essay
Rubric for Evaluating Essays
0 1 2 3 4
Blank paper Incorrect purpose, Correct purpose, Correct purpose, Correct purpose,
mode, audience mode, audience mode, audience mode, audience
Foreign language Brief, vague Some elaboration Moderately well Effective
elaborated elaboration
Illegible, Unelaborated Some details Clear, effective Consistent
incoherent language organization
Not enough Rambling Gaps in Organized Sense of
content to score organization (perhaps with completeness,
brief digressions) fluency
Lack of language Limited language
control control
Poor organization
19. In an essay, explain the conflict between Pueblo and Christian beliefs that is revealed in “The Man to Send
Rain Clouds.” In what way do these beliefs come together at the end of the story? How is this bridging of
traditions revealed through the reactions of the priest and Leon when holy water is sprinkled on Teofilo?
4. Rain Clouds and Invalid's Story
Answer Section
MULTIPLE CHOICE
1. D
2. C
3. A
4. A
5. A
6. B
7. D
8. C
9. A
10. D
11. B
12. C
13. B
14. B
15. D
16. B
17. D
18. A
ESSAY
19. Students’ essays should note that the conflict arises from the fact that the Pueblo people have their own
traditions and religious beliefs, but the priest wants to convert them to Christianity. Initially, they don’t
understand one another’s beliefs. At the end, the two cultures come together when the priest sprinkles holy
water on Teofilo. The priest is moved by the sight of the water falling like rain, and Leon feels confident that
the holy water will help Teofilo to make rain.
