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 did Beck nickname his depression?

2. What did Beck's climbing companion want Beck to decide on their way down the mountain?

3. What did Beck do to his body as he was making it stronger?

4. Between what two points of view does Chapter 13 switch?

5. Why did Beck have trouble seeing as he descended the mountain on his second climb?

Short Essay Questions

1. What did Dan relate about his and his father's coping methods for their negative emotions?

2. What does Beck see as his contribution to the household, and what does he neglect?

3. What sort of student was Beck at Northwestern?

4. Discuss what Beck wrote about his parents in Chapter 11.

5. What did Meg ask of her father? How did she feel about him?

6. What happened to Beck's emotional state during his first year at Midwestern?

7. What does Peach say about Beck's "obsessions"?

8. What did Kit relate about the Weathers' family life?

9. What made Beck decide to climb Everest? How does he start getting ready for the climb?

10. What does Beck write about his experience climbing Mount McKinley?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss one of the following:

1. Define irony in literary terms. Discuss the irony of the situation whereby Beck Weathers says that climbing Everest is not dangerous and yet he barely survived.

2. Define symbolism in literary terms. Discuss the use of and meaning of five symbols found in Left for Dead. Symbols are inherent in any work of literature, whether fiction or non-fiction, though in non-fiction, the use of symbols is not always intentional.

3. Discuss the use of foreshadowing in non-fiction. What is the purpose of foreshadowing in non-fiction? Cite 3 examples of foreshadowing and how it is indicates events to come in Left for Dead. Can you as the reader see ways that what Weathers writes about his early life foreshadows what will happen in his later life?

Essay Topic 2

Throughout the book Beck writes repeatedly about depression. He is an over achiever who seems to have been driven by a need to overcome his chronic depression.

1. Do you think Beck's drive to constantly be doing something helped his depression? Why or why not? Use examples from the book to support your answer.

2. Compare the effects of using alcohol or drugs to self-medicate depression with having to constantly be doing some activity to self-medicate. Use examples from the book to support your answer.

3. Considering the number of years that Beck drove himself to overcome his depression, and the fact that he is an obviously intelligent person, why do you think it took him so long to figure out what he was doing was not the answer?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the following:

1. Compare/contrast Beck Weathers at the beginning of the novel to him at the end of the novel. How are they alike? How are they different? Are they both sympathetic characters? Which "Beck Weathers" would you most likely have as a friend? Why?

2. Compare/contrast Beck Weathers at the beginning of the novel to Beck Weathers at the end of the novel. How are they alike? How are they different? Are they sympathetic characters? Who would you most likely have as a friend? Why?

3. Compare/contrast Beck Weathers to Peach Weathers. How are they alike? How are they different? Are they sympathetic characters? Who would you most likely have as a friend? Why? Is each one compassionate? Honorable? Why or why not?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,158 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample