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Black Elk Speaks

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Book Summary

John G. Neihardt Biography

Early Years and Education
Family and Early Career
Career Highlights
Later Years

About Black Elk Speaks

Introduction
Historical Timeline

Summary and Analysis by Chapter

Chapter 1: The Offering of the Pipe
Chapter 2: Early Boyhood
Chapter 3: The Great Vision
Chapter 4: The Bison Hunt
Chapter 5: At the Soldiers' Town
Chapter 6: High Horse's Courting
Chapter 7: Wasichus in the Hills
Chapter 8: The Fight With Three Stars
Chapter 9: The Rubbing Out of Long Hair
Chapter 10: Walking the Black Road
Chapter 11: The Killing of Crazy Horse
Chapter 12: Grandmother's Land
Chapter 13: The Compelling Fear
Chapter 14: The Horse Dance
Chapter 15: The Dog Vision
Chapter 16: Heyoka Ceremony
Chapter 17: The First Cure
Chapter 18: The Powers of the Bison and the Elk
Chapter 19: Across the Big Water
Chapter 20: The Spirit Journey
Chapter 21: The Messiah
Chapter 22: Visions of the Other World
Chapter 23: Bad Trouble Coming
Chapter 24: The Butchering at Wounded Knee
Chapter 25: The End of the Dream
Author's Postscript

Character List

Character Analysis

Black Elk
Black Elk's Father
White Cow Sees
Standing Bear
Red Cloud
Crazy Horse
Sitting Bull
Whirlwind Chaser

Critical Essays

The Quest Journey of the Hero
Cultural Displacement in Black Elk Speaks
Relationship with Nature in Black Elk Speaks
Neihardt's Authorship

Study and Homework Help

Full Glossary for Black Elk Speaks
Quiz
Essay Questions
Practice Projects

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Study and Homework Help

Quiz

1:  Which of the following categories of literature does not apply to Black Elk Speaks?

a. Autobiography

b. Historical fiction

c. Spiritual revelation

d. Tribal history
2:  What does the red ribbon -- one of the four ribbons of the universe -- represent?

a. The west, the source of rain

b. The north, the source of cleansing wind

c. The east, the place of the morning star that gives wisdom

d. The south, the place of summer and growth
3:  How old was Black Elk when he received his first vision in which two men appear in the sky singing a sacred song?

a. Five years old

b. Fifteen years old

c. Twenty-five years old

d. Black Elk cannot remember when this vision occurred
4:  What type of animal speaks to Black Elk at the beginning of his Great Vision?

a. Horse

b. Bison

c. Crow

d. Snake
5:  What name do the council of Grandfathers bestow upon Black Elk during his Great Vision?

a. Plenty Eagle Feathers

b. White Cow Sees

c. Iron Hawk

d. Eagle Wing Stretches
6:  During the fishing lesson, how does Watanye react when Black Elk falls into the water?

a. He paddles away, forcing Black Elk to walk home.

b. He laughs until his mouth bleeds.

c. He releases all the fish and makes Black Elk start all over.

d. He reaches out to Black Elk with a branch to help him up.
7:  Who does Black Elk's father refer to as the "Grandfather at Washington"?

a. Ulysses S. Grant

b. Andrew Jackson

c. General George Armstrong Custer

d. Rutherford B. Hayes
8:  Who does Black Elk regard as the greatest of all Sioux chiefs?

a. Red Cloud

b. Standing Bear

c. Crazy Horse

d. Sitting Bull
9:  What is the medicine man Black Road's advice when Black Elk tells him about his vision?

a. He advises Black Elk to hold a horse dance.

b. He tells Black Elk to wait for a sign from the Great Spirit.

c. He sends Black Elk into the countryside alone for three days.

d. He advises Black Elk to tell no one else about the vision.
10:  Upon whom does Black Elk perform his first act of healing?

a. His mother White Cow Sees

b. His good friend One Side

c. The young son of Cuts-to-Pieces

d. A wounded porcupine
11:  Who offers Black Elk a job that requires him to leave his tribe and travel abroad?

a. Ulysses S. Grant

b. Davy Crockett

c. Buffalo Bill

d. Roy Rogers
12:  What is the message of the rainbow that Black Elk envisions while dancing with the Brules on Cut Meat Creek?

a. "Remember this."

b. "Follow the eagle."

c. "Restore the Flowering Tree."

d. "Never surrender."
13:  What happens when Black Elk reaches the top of Harney Peak as an old man and begs the Great Spirit to let him help his people?

a. A bolt of lightning strikes a nearby tree.

b. He hears a low sound of thunder and it begins to rain.

c. Black Elk collapses and dies.

d. An eagle circles in the sky and comes to land on Black Elk's shoulder.



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