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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. How many Norday men are put on the list to be sent as seamen on His Majesty's men-of-war?

2. Where do the young Norday men hide from the military men and factor?

3. What do the three young lady typists bring with them to Norday?

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

5. According to author Brown, what does the real self seek?

Short Essay Questions

1. According to chapter 5, how did the lairds of old manage to be so wealthy?

2. Why are all the doors gone from the island homes when Thorfinn returns to Norday after many years absence?

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

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

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

6. What is a press gang?

7. Who was Revd Hector Drummond and what was he like?

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

9. Why did the Westvoe farm catch on fire and burn to the ground?

10. Who is Major Schneider?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Although the book is written in English, it is full of a distinct dialect that is Scottish/Orkney. Go through the book, lifting out phrases, words and names which reveal "Beside the Ocean of Time" to be a book written in a very specific and interesting dialect of the English language.

Essay Topic 2

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 3

Contrast the story of the two horses, Seamus (chapter 2) and Selkie (chapter 5). Write an essay describing their part in the story and what they symbolize. George Mackay Brown uses both horses symbolically. What does each represent? What is their story and how do they reveal the deeper meaning of the protagonists journey?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 881 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample