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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 is the bad news her mother tells her on the first day home?

2. What is the dream that Susan will lose if the cement is not successful?

3. What does Lyman originally think of Shelley?

4. What does Oliver tell Susan about his manager at the mine?

5. What does Susan encourage Oliver to do instead of moving their family to another country?

Short Essay Questions

1. When Augusta disapproves of Oliver, what characteristics in Susan are brought to light?

2. What characteristics are further brought out once Susan joins her husband in New Almaden?

3. What is Susan's attitude about her one-room shack in Leadville?

4. Why is Lyman resistant to Shelley's writing suggestions?

5. What does Lyman hope to accomplish during the writing about his grandparents' lives?

6. Is life harmonious and happy for the Wards in Leadville?

7. Why is Oliver unsuccessful in his attempts to market his invention?

8. In what ways in this chapter does the author remind the reader of Susan's issues?

9. How are the scenes in this chapter different from all the ones before and after as far as the marriage between Oliver and Susan?

10. How is Susan's embarrassment with her husband's social abilities highlighted in this chapter?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What are the themes of this novel, and did the author express them well?

Essay Topic 2

Could Susan have been a mining engineer? Why or why not?

Essay Topic 3

What qualities did Susan admire in Augusta that she herself did not have? How did Susan shape her life to be more like Augusta's life? What did Augusta have that Susan wanted?

(see the answer keys)

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