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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 does Ecthgow say to Ibn about the why the whales attack boats?

2. How many times has Ibn traveled away from his home city before this journey?

3. What happens to the weather after the funeral?

4. What part of the personal habits of the people from question #25 does Ibn write?

5. What does Buliwyf find in his destroyed village?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why was Ibn chosen as the thirteenth warrior?

2. How does Ibn end up telling a story in Rothgar's Hall?

3. What is the river Gayih like and what happens when Ibn crosses it?

4. What do the Northmen merchants have to sell and where do they sell it?

5. What kind of man is Ibn, and how much has he traveled before this journey?

6. What does Ibn and his party see as they walk towards Rothgar's Hall and how do the Viking warriors feel about it?

7. How do the Northmen hold funeral rites for their leader?

8. Where do the Northmen make landfall, how do they travel next and how does Ibn feel about the traveling? Why do they travel so many hours in a day?

9. What holds up Ibn's travels?

10. What trouble are the Northmen experiencing when Ibn meets them?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Oftentimes, a book has more of a character-driven plot rather than action driven, and oftentimes the other way. Some books seem to balance the two. Discuss the following:

1. What do you think it means to say that a plot is character driven? Action driven?

2. How do you think a plot differs if it is character driven versus action driven?

3. Which type of plot do you find more interesting? Why?

4. Do you think it is possible to have a plot where action and character development share equal time? Why or why not.

5. What type of plot do you think Eaters of the Dead is? Explain your response.

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the following:

1. Who is/are the protagonists of the story and why?

2. Who is/are the antagonists of the story and why?

3. Which 3 secondary characters have the greatest impact on the plot?

4. Are any of the characters dispensable and which ones? Why or why not?

5. Do you think this is a character-driven plot or an action-driven plot? Explain.

Essay Topic 3

Ibn Fadlan's writing style may be strange to readers. Ibn Fadlan does a wonderful job of baiting the reader's attention. He tells of coming to a forest and seeing mountains with hot springs gushing from them. These areas sound enchanting to the reader but he is left to devise a mental picture on his own. Ibn Fadlan does not offer flowing descriptions of the land he passes through or even comment on how he feels about the journey.

1. Did Ibn's writing style entice you to read farther or did you feel it was not interesting? Why or why not?

Use examples from "Eaters of the Dead" and your own life to support your answer.

2. Would you rather read a book about a place you have never seen with a lot of description or just a minimal so that you can visualize your own picture? Explain why you would prefer one or the other. Use examples from the text and your own life to support your answer.

3. Do you think the book would have been more interesting if more of Ibn's feelings had been shown? Why or why not? Use examples from "Eaters of the Dead" and your own life to support your answer.

(see the answer keys)

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