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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 does the shadow feel like when Ged grabs him?

2. Where do Ged and Vetch travel to after the fight?

3. What does Ogion advise Ged to do?

4. What saves Ged from drowning?

5. to where does Ged sail?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Ged's meeting with Serret show a coming of age?

2. How does Ged realize the Shadow's name?

3. Is it significant that Ged turns into a hawk?

4. What is significant about the reintroduction of Vetch?

5. How is it important to the story that Ged's mother died during his early childhood?

6. Has Ged completed a full circle of his life?

7. How is the couple's refusal to leave the island comparative to Ged's need to move on?

8. Why is it important that the reader does not know the victor of the fight until Vetch asks him?

9. How does Ged's reaction to the town's celebration show a change in his character?

10. What does Vetch's comment that he was there in beginning so he should be there in the end, mean in context of the story?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss the importance of ancient traditions in the novel. Do you think tradition holds Ged and the younger characters back? How does it affect the tone of the novel? Does it represent a split between the younger and older generations?

Essay Topic 2

What do you think the Shadow means within the context of the story? Why does Ged have to defeat it to move on with his life? What does the Shadow represent?

Essay Topic 3

The world of Earthsea consists of a series of islands such as Roke, Gont, and Osskil.

1) Take one of the islands in the book and describe its layout and population. What is the main industry? What is the landscape? What kind of food do they eat? Do you think they resemble any real countries?

2) Why do you think Le Guin makes her world up of islands? How does it affect the characters' actions and behavior? How do you think the novel would be different if it was set in one country?

(see the answer keys)

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