View a FREE sample

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

Short Answer Questions

1. What do some of the horses manage to do with the fence?

2. With what is the valley they come to filled?

3. Where is Ibn wounded during the battle?

4. Why do the men not take a break between battles?

5. How many of the wendol does Ibn slay?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Herger tell Ibn about why the Vikings are not more excited after the first battle?

2. How does Ibn feel when he looks at the cliffs, what does he tell Herger and what does Herger tell him?

3. What do Herger and Ibn think of each others' religion?

4. What does Buliwyf do as they are heading back to Rothgar's Hall and why? What does Ibn think about Herger's information?

5. What is one of the new defenses around Hurot and what do the women do with water and why do they do it?

6. What do the Northmen do around mid-morning the day after the second battle?

7. What do the dwarfs give the warriors and what do they say to Buliwyf's question about a successful attack?

8. Where does Ibn awake after the battle and what does he see as he walks across the compound?

9. How does Wiglif end up dead?

10. What do the Northmen do the night they visited the dwarfs, and why does Ibn decide to join with them?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Ibn Fadlan's writing style may be strange to readers. Ibn Fadlan does a wonderful job of baiting the reader's attention. He tells of coming to a forest and seeing mountains with hot springs gushing from them. These areas sound enchanting to the reader but he is left to devise a mental picture on his own. Ibn Fadlan does not offer flowing descriptions of the land he passes through or even comment on how he feels about the journey.

1. Did Ibn's writing style entice you to read farther or did you feel it was not interesting? Why or why not?

Use examples from "Eaters of the Dead" and your own life to support your answer.

2. Would you rather read a book about a place you have never seen with a lot of description or just a minimal so that you can visualize your own picture? Explain why you would prefer one or the other. Use examples from the text and your own life to support your answer.

3. Do you think the book would have been more interesting if more of Ibn's feelings had been shown? Why or why not? Use examples from "Eaters of the Dead" and your own life to support your answer.

Essay Topic 2

There are a number of interesting questions raised by "Eaters of the Dead". Questions that Crichton most likely want readers to consider and think through carefully. Discuss the following:

1. What does the term "author agenda" mean?

2. Name one idea/concept you think may have been a part of the Crichton's agenda. Analyze that idea throughout the book and discuss Crichton's probable agenda concerning that idea.

2. Do you think writers who have an agenda for writing should point it out in a preface?

3. How often do you think fiction is written with a clear agenda in mind by the author?

4. Research the life of Crichton and if/where his life may have influenced his writing.

Essay Topic 3

Often, authors will write about "what they know," and sometimes knowing a little about the author makes the books more interesting. Discuss the following:

1. Research and give a brief biographical sketch of Michael Crichton.

2. What in Crichton's background may have helped Crichton in writing "Eaters of the Dead"? What may have influenced the way he depicts various characters and scenes?

3. Do you think there is always some of the author's own life in his/her novels? Why or why not? Give examples.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,282 words (approx. 5 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample