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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. How many wagons does the large caravan that was the second to arrive at Spring Creek consist of?

2. Of what nationality are the four men of the first small caravan to visit the settlement?

3. What is the name of Hans Olsa's daughter?

4. What is the name of Kjersti's cow?

5. How many children are in the Hansa family?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does the woman who has been tied in the back of the wagon do while she is at Per Hansa's house?

2. Who has a problem with Per Hansa's house? Why? What does this character do when Per Hansa ignores his advice?

3. Describe what is happening when the locusts come to the settlement. What is the reaction of the settlers?

4. What is Beret Hansa's emotional/mental state in Book 1, Chapter 1 of the novel? Why?

5. Describe the Hansa family.

6. Why don't the neighbors want to visit the Hansa house?

7. After the locusts first come and the men finish plowing the fields, Per goes to check on Beret to see how she has fared during the attack. What does he find when he returns home and how does he react?

8. In Book 1, Chapter 4, Per Hansa is surveying his property and finds wooden stakes in the ground. Where does Per find the stakes, what do they mean, and how does he react to this discovery?

9. Why does Tonseten need to talk to the minister in private?

10. Describe the weather in Book 1, Chapter 6. How does Beret feel about the whitewashing? What does it have to do with the weather?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss how the community of Spring Creek grows over time. Do you think that this is typical of pioneer communities of the time? How were the settlers of Spring Creek so successful when other men and women of the pioneer were not? Explain your answer.

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the character of Per Hansa. Is he a sympathetic character? Why or why not? What are his major downfalls? Where does he succeed? How do the aspects of his character guide his actions in the book and ultimately decide his fate? Provide examples from the book.

Essay Topic 3

Beret Hansa goes through many ups and downs and her emotional struggle is up front for the reader to experience all through the novel. Discuss Beret's emotional state. How does it change? What prompts her depression? How do her emotion stir her actions? How does her emotional state affect the other members of the community? Where is she emotionally by the end of the novel? Provide examples from the book.

(see the answer keys)

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