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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. When the original Hall burns down, where does the laird stay that winter?

2. Why is the present laird so poor?

3. Who is the muse chapter 5 is named for?

4. What is the grand plan of the government for Norday island's new purpose?

5. Where does Thorfinn spend most of the war?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

3. What is happening to both the laird's house and the minister's manse in chapter 5?

4. What does Thorfinn do when he returns to the island after the war?

5. Why was the present laird, Mr. Harcourt-Smithers, so much poorer than his forefathers?

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

7. What kind of food does Mara the seal wife like to eat?

8. Why did Sophie come back to Norday Island in the end?

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

10. Who is Sophie?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Looking at the historic imaginative stories, write an essay on the various time periods and major event which Thorfinn "brings to life" through his imagination and dreaming. Touch briefly on each episode and clearly identify the time period and major characters of the story.

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

"Beside the Ocean of Time" is rooted in Orkney tradition and culture. Write an essay on the connection it has to the world of these northern Scottish islands. How does the author evoke the landscape and ways of his people? What does he love about his homeland? How does he express this in the book?

(see the answer keys)

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