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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 Matthew Ragnarson buy from the village store at the beginning of chapter 1?

2. What sea does the Volga empty into?

3. Whose relics are rumored to be taken to the war at Stirling Castle?

4. How long does it take for Thorfinn to make the journey back to Norday Island from the Eastern Empire?

5. Who takes Thorfinn back from the Eastern Empire to Norday Island?

Short Essay Questions

1. What sorts of food do Thorfinn and Sir James MacTavish eat on their way to Stirling Castle?

2. What are some of the things that village people buy at Isa Estquoy's shop on Norday Island?

3. When and where does Old Jacob Olafson die?

4. What does the title of chapter 3 refer to?

5. What reaction does Jacob's wife, Rena, have to arriving on Norday Island?

6. Why does the author call the gathering at the Norday blacksmith shop "the village parliament?"

7. What is the general opinion of Thorfinn in the village of Norday?

8. Why is Mr. Simon's lesson on Bannockburn so boring?

9. What is the scripture reading that the pastor from the Borders, Reverend Hector Drummond, saying?

10. When Thorfinn drifts back into time, at the side of the broch ruin, how far back does he go and where is he?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The social order of Norday Island is strictly regulated. Thorfinn is cast, from birth, to be a crofter, as his father was before him. Write an essay on why such a system of pre-ordained roles is important for the continuation of any culture. Is Thorfinn simply a rare oddity who can't fulfill his role or is he symbolic of the "modern man" who longs to find himself outside the bounds of tradition and culture? What is the role of tradition in a small interdependent world such as Norday?

Essay Topic 2

Analyze the themes in "The Song of the Broch." What is the overall image that Thorfinn creates? How is that image carried through in the chapter as a whole? What is the overall feeling and tone of the song? How is writing song lyrics different from telling a story through narrative or prose?

Essay Topic 3

Write an essay on the idea of a muse, in both ancient Greek literature and here, in chapter 5. How does Sophie function as a muse? Find one example of an ancient Greek muse and compare her to that example.

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