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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. Who brings Thorfinn his supplies on the deserted Norday Island now that everyone else has gone?

2. Where does the Norday laird of the 1930s spend most of his time?

3. Who is Ragna courting in chapter 6?

4. In chapter 6 what does Thorfinn dream of?

5. What is the one action Thorfinn takes in chapter 7?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Thorfinn take with him when he is liberated from the German war camp?

2. What does Thorfinn find when he goes, after many long years, back to the loft where he had locked up Mara's seal skin?

3. What did Winnie Swona do when some of her hens disappeared from the henhouse during the aerodrome building?

4. Did the peace treaty between Chamberlain and Hitler stop the work on the Norday Aerodrome?

5. How does Mara react when a seal is captured and killed by the fishermen?

6. Why does the seal girl, Mara, not follow the seal-people into the sea?

7. Why did the hippies finally leave Norday Island?

8. In chapter five one of the previous minister uses the title of the book when referring to fossils. What does he mean?

9. What did the Ragnarson's dog, Stalwart, do when the workers came to tear down the fences in order that Ingle might become part of the Aerodrome building site?

10. Why was Mistress Ragnarson not afraid to catch consumption from her son Thorfinn (in chapter 6)?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

In the tight knit community of Norday, each person plays a pre-ordained role which is vital in some way to the health of the entire community. Write an essay describing the role of the laird in Orkney culture, both in time past and in present day (1930s) Norday. What role did the laird play and why is the present laird, although much less powerless, still important? What is his function in terms of the culture? Or does he have one any longer?

Essay Topic 2

The impetuous for Thorfinn's storytelling/dreaming is often being uncomfortable (from either boredom or conflict). Trace this pattern through the book and show how these uncomfortable situations lead him into a time of imagination. Show how he is able to work through difficulty through his gift of imagination and storytelling.

Essay Topic 3

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?

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