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 does Large Marge say she came to talk to Cora about in order to make Ernt leave the cabin in Chapter 18?

2. From what illness does Cora die?

3. Whose poems does Leni recite to Matthew when they are trapped and injured on the cliffside?

4. What does Ernt consume himself with building on his property in Chapter 19?

5. What is next to Leni in the nightmare that she has in the beginning of Chapter 15?

Short Essay Questions

1. How is the courtroom described in Chapter 30?

2. How does Leni manage to meet up with Matthew in Chapter 19? What happens when they do?

3. What is related in Leni's "My Alaska" essay in the novel's conclusion?

4. Why does Leni write a personal statement in Chapter 17? What is revealed in it?

5. What plan do Leni and Cora devise immediately after Ernt's death?

6. What does Ernt propose to do in order to protect the Harlan compound in Part 2? How is this proposal met by the Harlans?

7. What does Ernt do when he finds Matthew on his property coming to visit Leni in Part 2? How does Leni respond?

8. What is the result of Leni's confession in Chapter 29?

9. How does Ernt respond when Leni calls out to Matthew for help in Kaneq in Part 2?

10. How does Large Marge help Cora and Leni after Ernt's death?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss the use of foreshadowing and/or red herrings in The Great Alone. What purposes do foreshadowing and red herrings serve in literature? How and why are they employed in this novel? Give three examples from the text in your response.

Essay Topic 2

Describe and analyze the characters of Matthew and Tom Walker in The Great Alone. What characteristics stand out in Tom and his son? What do the actions of these characters indicate regarding their motivations? How do the characters evolve?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the author's employment of irony in The Great Alone. Give three examples of irony and discuss each. What is dramatic irony and how is it employed? What is verbal irony? How does situational irony come into play?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 826 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample