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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. Abbey likes the word, "Tukuhnikivats," which means

2. The only sign of human life Abbey and Waterman see in the maze is

3. Abbey sees the value of wilderness, in a political sense, as

4. The desert winds of May have

5. Abbey feels the only real paradise is

Short Essay Questions

1. Do you think Edward Abbey is a fanatic? Is his fear of a future dictatorial regime unfounded?

2. Why does Abbey prefer the desert to other environments?

3. Try to explain Abbey's rambling about naming things.

4. What does Abbey say, indirectly, about change?

5. The trip down the Colorado for Abbey and Newcomb is blissful and idyllic. What, if any, is the dark side of this story?

6. How does Abbey feel about leaving the desert and returning to the city?

7. Do you think Abbey intended to risk his life by spending the entire day trying to entice Moon-Eye to come to him.

8. Of what is Abbey reminded as he lay naked on top of Tukuhnikivats?

9. Why does Abbey persist in pursuing Moon-Eye when the heat and conditions have become quite uncomfortable for him?

10. Why was Abbey not interested in living with the Supai Havasu Indians?

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

Edward Abbey's Desert Solitaire is not simply a story of his stay in the desert, but is a narrative of his experiences and feelings about the land as he learns its peculiarities and the nature of the desert. What, however, is the main thrust of Abbey's message? What does he want us to think about after having read about all of the aspects of the Arches and the surrounding land? Does Abbey's story have an ulterior motive?

(see the answer keys)

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