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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. Ten miles away past the highway, Abbey can see

2. West of the Mississippi, Abbey says the cult of "cowboyism" is growing as fast as

3. Water has not created the arches, but they are instead carved by

4. Edward Abbey's solution to preventing rattlesnakes is

5. A civil engineer believes a road will help

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Abbey suggest should be done about the erosion of national parks?

2. It is interesting that Abbey wants to "own" all of the grandeur he sees around him. What does this feeling actually mean in this context?

3. Is it beneficial to the Navajos that their population is increasing?

4. Abbey describes areas where one can find artifacts from Native Americans in the form of arrowheads and spearheads, made from obsidian. There is a law that prohibits removing stones from the national park. Do you think these artifacts can still be found in the "shady alcoves under canyon walls" in the Arches?

5. Explain why Abbey prefers not to use a flashlight in the dark.

6. Why would the obsidian shards be named "Apache tears?"

7. Abbey seems to jump back and forth in time in his book. Where in this chapter does that first become obvious?

8. Discuss Abbey's relationship with the natural world as he watches the stars.

9. Is Abbey's story of Husk and Graham a fact-checked, absolutely correct retelling?

10. Explain Abbey's reasoning that joy may support survival.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

There are hundreds of geographical features mentioned in Desert Solitaire. Make a table and list of all of the geographical features, look up their meanings and descriptions, and add images, if possible. Provide copies of your material to the class for reference as they read Desert Solitaire.

Essay Topic 2

Could you, and would you, volunteer for a job through the summer in the desert, knowing the harsh conditions? Why do you think Edward Abbey deliberately, and more than once, took the Park Ranger job for the summer, which was clearly an extreme challenge? Is he a little crazy, as he notes? What does the experience provide him with, if anything?

Essay Topic 3

Abbey and his friend, Newcomb, enjoy an incredible rafting trip down the Colorado River, separating themselves from humanity in general. Discuss in a detailed essay Abbey's mixed feelings of revulsion and delight about the human race. How does this trip down the river bring things into focus for him? Since he is a human himself, does he simply feel superior to most people, or are his objections more theoretical? Is the trip down the river a statement of some kind - does it hold a deeper meaning?

(see the answer keys)

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