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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 keeps Thorfinn awake during church services?

2. What great Scottish battle takes place in 1314?

3. Why does Thorfinn miss the great battle at Stirling Castle?

4. What does Jess the tinker wife sell on her journey from place to place?

5. Where is Mr. Simon hoping to go on vacation with Miss Cameron?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. In the Song of the Broch, how does Thorfinn describe the sheltering castle?

3. Why does Isa Estquoy know more than the minister and doctor about the community of Norday?

4. When and where does Old Jacob Olafson die?

5. What does the poorest man in Norday believe politically?

6. What do the family and friends of Jacob Olafson do when the old man dies?

7. Why does Jacob Olafson run away on the day of his sister's wedding?

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

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

10. How are the men of the North treated when they had sailed into the Byzantium empire?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The style of writing a story within a story is somewhat unique. What does this literary device allow the author to reveal about his main character, Thorfinn? Why doesn't he simply write a book of imaginative stories? How is this double layer of reality different? How does it affect the reader?

Essay Topic 2

Food is a strong theme in the book. Food is a very clear way to evoke a cultural tradition. Find some examples of Brown's use of food, in both the present day Norday story and the dreams. Describe the way Brown uses food and how it is used to bring the reader into the time and place of the characters.

Essay Topic 3

Write a detailed character study of Thorfinn. How is he introduced? What are the major obstacles placed in the path of this protagonist? How does he evolve through the book? What does he learn and how does he change?

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