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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 is the weather like the day Inga gives birth?

2. Why does Agnes decide to go where she does after being kicked out of Natan's house?

3. What happens to the baby after Inga gives birth?

4. What does Agnes predict about Roslin's unborn child?

5. How does Agnes feel about living in Illugstadir after arriving?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is at the crux of the disagreement between Blondal and Reverend Toti about Agnes?

2. How does Reverend Toti relay his message to Blondal about preparing Agnes for her execution?

3. What happens when Agnes goes to the storehouse to find Inga?

4. What is an example of how Margret begins to trust Agnes and appreciate her knowledge?

5. Why does Agnes believe that she may have been friends with Poet-Rosa under different circumstances?

6. How does Agnes feel when she discerns that Sigga has the position of housekeeper?

7. What was Agnes' first impression of Sigga when she arrives at Illugastadir?

8. How does Agnes approach Natan's work as a medicinal man? Why is her response ironic?

9. After realizing that her sister was dead, what was Agnes' reaction?

10. Why does Margret worry about the relationship she is fostering with Agnes?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Why is truth a nebulous term and how does this novel test the varied notions people have toward truth?

Essay Topic 2

Agnes tackles the idea of truth throughout the text; it appears it is a very contentious topic for her. How does she view truth and why do you think she has come to those conclusions? Provide four quotes that prove Agnes' definition of truth.

Essay Topic 3

Paraphrase the following quotes and examine what they say about the human condition. What does a person want from life and what is lacking?

(Agnes) "I expected him (Reverend Toti) to understand me from the start. I want him to understand me, but I'm a fool to think we speak the same tongue. I may as well be talking to him with a stone in my mouth, trying to find a language that we both understand" (115).

(Agnes) "Toti wishes to hear about my family, but what I have told him has not been what he wants to hear. He must not be used to gnarled trees that grow in this valley, where the branches rope about one another, studded with thorns" (115).

(see the answer keys)

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