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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 is the leader of the Clan?

2. What does Ayla do that reveals her secret skill?

3. What painkilling bark does Iza give Ayla for her fever and painful scratches?

4. What feature of Creb's hearth makes it especially ideal for him?

5. Why does Ayla go out alone?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is Creb's unique ability?

2. Why does the medicine woman have status of her own, regardless of her mate?

3. Why does Brun send Ayla to find Creb when he falls behind on the journey home?

4. What does Ayla think about what Iza told her before she died?

5. Why are Brun and Broud and their mates relieved when they return to the cave?

6. What makes the girl blindly rush straight toward the herd of wild cows?

7. How does Iza comfort Ayla when she gets upset after looking in the pool?

8. What does Ayla realize about her son's deformity?

9. What does Ayla focus on once cursed with death?

10. What does Ayla decide while she is practicing with the sling?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What role do the totem spirits play in the lives of the clan? How do their beliefs regarding the spirits affect their acceptance of Ayla? How does Ayla challenge their beliefs? Write an essay about three specific points in the story where the totem spirits play a role.

Essay Topic 2

Ayla struggles with an internal conflict over using the sling.

Part 1) How does she justify using it the first time? How does she justify using it later? Identify the conflicting values behind her decision whether or not to pursue using the sling.

Part 2) Explain Ayla's realization that she cannot use the sling in a productive way. What does the porcupine symbolize? Why does she want to keep trying?

Part 3) How does the skill Ayla develops with the sling influence her relationships, especially with the men of the clan? Why does she have such a hard time feigning submission to male superiority?

Essay Topic 3

The differences between the Others and the clan are an important theme of the novel.

Part 1) How do these differences influence the story?

Part 2) How do the clan members perceive Ayla? How does being around them influence her perception of herself?

Part 3) What do the Others symbolize to the clan? Be sure to cite examples from the novel.

(see the answer keys)

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