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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. Why can't the Vikings return to Sweden?

2. What do the Sea King sailors carry as weapons from ship to shore?

3. What great Scottish battle takes place in 1314?

4. What do the men of Norday clean their pipes with?

5. Who is Hector Drummond?

Short Essay Questions

1. What sorts of food do Thorfinn and Sir James MacTavish eat on their way to Stirling Castle?

2. When Thorfinn drifts back into time, at the side of the broch ruin, how far back does he go and where is he?

3. What brings Jacob Olafson's wife Rena out of her fearful, furtive ways and back into life?

4. What is Mr. Harcourt-Smithers place within the island community?

5. Why does the school teacher, Mr. Simon, have trouble paying for his groceries at the village shop in Norday?

6. What are some of the things that village people buy at Isa Estquoy's shop on Norday Island?

7. What do the family and friends of Jacob Olafson do when the old man dies?

8. When headed down the Volga River what does the crew of the Solan Goose eat?

9. When Jacob Olafson returns from his great adventure, what does he bring and what does he find?

10. When Sir James MacTavish is on his way to the battle of Bannockburn he meets a herdsman. What has the herdsman never heard of?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Why do Sophie and Thorfinn return to the barren community of Norday Island? What does their return represent? What is George Makay Brown's message in their return? What is the place of the artist in the world?

Essay Topic 2

Food is a strong theme in the book. Food is a very clear way to evoke a cultural tradition. Find some examples of Brown's use of food, in both the present day Norday story and the dreams. Describe the way Brown uses food and how it is used to bring the reader into the time and place of the characters.

Essay Topic 3

The style of writing a story within a story is somewhat unique. What does this literary device allow the author to reveal about his main character, Thorfinn? Why doesn't he simply write a book of imaginative stories? How is this double layer of reality different? How does it affect the reader?

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