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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. Why is Natan's home built to face the land and not the sea?

2. What does Rosa say, in Chapter 10, about her connection to Agnes?

3. What do Natan and Agnes do to ensure Sigga does not know about their relationship?

4. Why did Agnes have to leave her foster-family, as described in Chapter 6?

5. What does Agnes admire about Natan, as descried in Chapter 9?

Short Essay Questions

1. In Poet-Rosa's poem to Natan Ketilsson, what overall message does she convey to him?

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

3. What revelation did Agnes come to after examining her little sister's death?

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

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

6. Why does Agnes' "mouth ache" after meeting with Reverend Toti?

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

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

9. What did Daniel, Natan's worker, say to Agnes about her relationship? Why?

10. How does Agnes recount Natan's unexpected demeanor?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Analyze Agnes' opinion: "They will blow us all out, one by one, until it is only their light by which they see themselves. Where will I be then" (1)? How does she see the world and the human condition according to this quote? Do you agree/disagree?

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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