Section B
Write a summary of Cowboys and Indians in about 150 words.
In the beginning of the novel, we hear about the environment in which the narrator comes from. She is from a small town, and she has come home to participate in her grandmother’s funeral, even though she now lives in a big city on the east coast.

The narrator does not feel she fits in with the rest of the family at the funeral preparations; therefore, she calls her cousin David. Together they drive fast through the city, ignoring the red traffic lights until they reach a bar where they drink.

Afterwards they run to a hillside to watch the sunset. On the slope, she sits and think; David will never be able to understand the admiration she has had for her grandmother. They sit on the cliff and watch as the sun sets while smoking marihuana-cigarettes. Then they move, to get something to eat.

As the narrator and David goes to a takeaway stall to get some food, they encounter some Indian women who talks to them. They say that they have brought the devils wind with them. David is frightened of it while the narrator is not affected.

When they are at her grandmother’s house again, they say goodbye.
(199 words)

Characterize the narrator.
The narrator is a very reflective person. She thinks of small details that make her reflect about existential questions and come up with big considerations about life. “He would never think of them as accomplishments; he would never be expected to perform any of them, or even to try. It’s expectation that’s so crushing sometimes, I think” (p. 10, l. 95-97) She thinks about all the things her grandmother had accomplished. She managed to take care of five children, while taking various jobs. She says it is something that David will never be able to understand because there is not that kind of expectations to him.
She feels torn in several ways. She grew up in a small town where her family still lives, but she moved to a larger city on the east coast. She is now an adult and is therefore responsible for several things at her grandmother's funeral, but she still feels like a teenager. On one hand, she is wild and rebellious like her cousin David, and on the other hand, she is a very reflective person who thinks about things and admire her grandmother's life as a housewife. She tries to maintain a facade - to play hard, but deep down she is not so tough.
Comment on similarities and differences between David and the narrator.
David has been the narrator’s role model as the “wild rebel”, when she was little, and he still is. He has been a soldier during the Gulf War, and has a wild attitude and live a hard life. He is like an outlaw who does what suits him.
Similarities
Their grandfather, who was the patriarch of the family, looked askance at them both, and it binds them together - they are both outsiders. She feels that they have something in common with both being "the black sheep" in the family.
“We are the black sheep of the family, and we understand this about each other. Our grandfather, the patriarch of the family, despised us both” (p. 8, l. 56-58)
What the narrator and David also have in common is that they both feel in doubt about their position in the family. Now that both her grandfather, who did not care about either the narrator or David, and her grandmother, who conversely, sought to integrate them into the family, are dead, they do not really know where they are.
“Our grandmother tried failingly to make up for it. Now they’re both dead, and we’re not really sure where that leaves us.” (p. 8, l. 58-59)
Differences
The fact that narrator is ordering tequila instead of Margaritas at the bar, shows that he has trained her well. It shows that he is somehow her teacher. There is in this sense a difference between the two, because David is more experienced and more trained to be a rebel than she is.
“David raised his eyebrows. ‘I thought you well,’ he says.” (p. 9, l. 70)
Despite the narrator has a rebellious side and have looked up to his cousins David lifestyle, his huge rebelliousness and radically wild attitude still is more wild and rebellious than hers. She has just acquired a portion of his attitude. We see the difference between them in the way that he is wilder than she is.
“David screams rebellion, always has. As a kid, he embodied to me all that was wild in the world” (p. 7, ll. 18-19)
Write a short essay (150-200 words) in which you discuss what makes a person an outsider.
I think you can be “the black sheep” in many contexts, but it is never fun to be the outsider. When you are the outsider, you could be standing outside a group, which you want to be a part of.
As the outsider, there are always things that you cannot be privy to because, to belong in a group, means that you will be a part of all the things that are being talked about, among the people who are in the group. As the outsider, you are automatically being pushed into the background.
However, I believe that being the outsider has become a negatively charged word, but it does not have to. Being the outsider means standing outside, next to or just feel left out, and it may be a good thing. You could have chosen to stand outside for several reasons. It could be that you think it is boring to be like everyone else. If you choose to be the outsider, it does not have to mean anything negative, but instead it can be a sign of independence.
(181 words)