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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. What word best describes Matt's thoughts as soon as Attean and the fellow visitor leave?

2. When Matt hears of the atrocities that take place here in this territory, who does he think of and fear for?

3. Once Matt is finished outside, he relaxes with a cup of tea. From what does he make this tea?

4. When Mat finally makes it outside, he does so by making a kind of tool that is similar to what?

5. As Matt thinks about the time of year, what day does he think most about?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Saknis receive Matt's declining the invitation to go on the hunt with his people?

2. What is the conflict Matt faces when Saknis invites him to come along on the hunt with his people as Attean's brother?

3. Why is it ironic that Matt wonders how the Great Spirit that the Indians worship seem to be like the Indians themselves--i.e. a mighty hunter, very strong?

4. What does Matt do at the end of Chapter 24 that suggests he has adequately prepared for winter?

5. How does the celebration of the bear kill at Attean's village actually work to lessen friction over cultural differences?

6. How do the setting and details that the author uses to describe autumn work to match Matt's mood when he recognizes that his family is past due?

7. When Matt comes upon the Attean's dog in the trap, he knows he is in the land of the turtle and should not tamper with anything there. Why does he knowingly go against the law that Attean taught him?

8. Why is Matt "delighted" to know that Attean tells the story to his brothers?

9. In spite of Attean not being in high spirits, he visits Matt shortly before his manitou. What is the significance of this visit at this time?

10. What is the explanation for Attean not eating the bear and how does he seem to feel about this?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Until Matt read Robinson Crusoe to Attean, it was just the story of an adventure. What does Matt himself learn from reading Robinson Crusoe through Attean's eyes? How does the book ultimately become an educational tool for Matt?

Essay Topic 2

The Sign of the Beaver certainly explores the plight of the native Americans. Yet there is much the reader learns about "the white man" from Attean. What image of the white frontiersmen emerges from this novel? In other words, how does the image of the white man that Attean speaks of compare or contrast to the actual white men (such as Matt, his father, and briefly, Ben) the reader encounters in the story?

Essay Topic 3

In Chapter 17 Matt learns Attean's personal history. How is this personal history lesson more powerful to Matt than other lessons about Indians he has learned in the past?

(see the answer keys)

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