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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. Hundreds of years ago, Anasazi hunters left behind

2. Edward Abbey is employed by the

3. The government survey crew came with plans to

4. We learn that Abbey has a real dislike for

5. Edward is overcome with a desire to

Short Essay Questions

1. What advantages did the government's Atomic Energy Commission have in finding uranium? Are they portrayed as a benificent agency?

2. Abbey describes areas where one can find artifacts from Native Americans in the form of arrowheads and spearheads, made from obsidian. There is a law that prohibits removing stones from the national park. Do you think these artifacts can still be found in the "shady alcoves under canyon walls" in the Arches?

3. Explain Abbey's reasoning that joy may support survival.

4. What is Roy Scobie's problem?

5. For what does the author seem to be searching by taking this job?

6. What is an example of the primitive attitudes of Native Americans, as expressed by Abbey?

7. Why does Abbey's watch seem absurd to him?

8. How were the Park Service rules ambiguous as they were written in 1916?

9. Why does Abbey decide not to kill the rattlesnake under his doorstep?

10. Why would the obsidian shards be named "Apache tears?"

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Desert Solitaire was first written in 1956, and reprinted several times after that. Abbey obviously added some text over time. Do a close reading of the section where Abbey describes the experience of noontime in the desert as a psychedelic experience. Are you able to "feel" and understand what he is trying to say? Is he, perhaps, suffering from heat stroke at that time, or is he disoriented. Discuss in your essay the kinds of literary tools Abbey uses to help us experience his story.

Essay Topic 2

In the chapter entitled The Heat of Noon, Abbey makes a list of the preparations that would be necessary in order to impose a dictatorship on a country. Do a close reading of his list and in an essay, write a response to each of his entries. Was he exaggerating? Is he a radical? Are any of these conditions currently in place? Note where you agree or disagree with his opinions, and why. Where would Abbey fall in today's society politically?

Essay Topic 3

Could you, and would you, volunteer for a job through the summer in the desert, knowing the harsh conditions? Why do you think Edward Abbey deliberately, and more than once, took the Park Ranger job for the summer, which was clearly an extreme challenge? Is he a little crazy, as he notes? What does the experience provide him with, if anything?

(see the answer keys)

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