How I Became a Ghost: A Choctaw Trail of Tears Story

Chapters 1-3

Reading Check

1. He is a ghost. (Chapter 1)

2. Jumper (Chapter 1)

3. Isaac’s brother, Luke (Chapter 2)

4. Mister Jonah (Chapter 2)

Short Answer

1. Something related to the Treaty Talk between the Choctaws and Nahullos has gone wrong. (Chapter 1)

2. It is a farewell ritual for their home. (Chapter 2)

3. The Choctaws feel connected to the land, so even though their houses are in town, they consider their homes to be the land’s natural elements. (Chapter 2)

4. The women, like the men, are saying goodbye to their homes. (Chapter 3)

Chapters 4-7

Reading Check

1. The Nahullo (Chapter 4)

2. The swamp (Chapter 5)

3. Blankets (Chapter 6)

4. A snow monster (Chapter 7)

Short Answer

1. He saw them burning in his vision. (Various chapters)

2. It creates a light-hearted moment for the family during a time of hardship. It also shows that Isaac and Luke probably do not often play with their father, because they are afraid when they hit him with the snowball. (Chapter 7)

3. The swamp provides additional shelter from the Nahullos, who do not go into the swamp because it is dangerous. Though the area is dangerous, the people have a greater chance of survival in the swamp than battling the Nahullo. (Various chapters)

Chapters 8-11

Reading Check

1. Smallpox (Chapter 8)

2. Big Brother (Chapter 9)

3. Pieces of a blanket (Chapter 9)

4. Ghost world (Chapter 10)

5. She dies. (Chapter 11)

Short Answer

1. Jumper worries that he will become a ghost soon as well. (Chapter 8)

2. The soldiers make a callous remark that they will have one less mouth to feed because Ruth’s daughter Nita died. The remark reveals that the soldiers do not see the Choctaws as people and that they see them as a burden. (Chapter 11)

Chapters 12-17

Reading Check

1. Her lost sister (Chapter 12)

2. Naomi (Chapter 13)

3. A panther (Chapter 14)

4. Nani Humma (Chapter 15)

5. Joseph (Chapter 17)

Short Answer

1. Naomi works for the Nahullos, who gave the tribe the infected blankets. (Chapter 13)

2. He performs duties for the soldiers, like building fires and fishing. (Chapter 14)

Chapters 18-27

Reading Check

1. A wolf (Chapter 18)

2. To the soldiers’ camp (Chapter 19)

3. Hang her by her hands (Chapter 20)

4. He chews the rope. (Chapter 21)

5. A trunk/hidden compartment (Chapter 22)

6. A hairpiece (Chapter 23)

7. Nita (Chapter 26)

8. Female Nahullo ghosts (Chapter 27)

Short Answer

1. After Joseph and Isaac help Naomi escape the soldiers, the soldiers are angry that she disappeared. Jumper probably suspects the soldiers will attack the Choctaw camp in retribution. (Various chapters)

2. The leader of the soldiers is angry when he awakens. His promise that someone will die refers to the retribution he plans to inflict on the Choctaw people for helping Naomi escape. (Various chapters)

Chapters 28-29

Reading Check

1. Joseph as a panther (Chapter 28)

2. The lead soldier (Chapter 28)

3. General Pushmataha (Chapter 28)

4. Blankets and corn (Chapter 29)

Short Answer

1. Joseph becomes a panther and protects the leader from the wolf’s attack. (Chapter 28)

2. People should treat one another with kindness and embrace differences. (Various chapters)