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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 or what is Wait-for-the-West-Wind?

2. What does Keoki tell Abner about the rocks in Malama's garden?

3. What series of natural phenomena are described as the cause of events in the opening section?

4. What important position does the king's uncle, Tupuna, pass down to Teroro?

5. What is the name of the newest god and the island of the gods?

Short Essay Questions

1. What are the earliest life forms that an island can support, once it has formed soil?

2. What does King Tamatoa plan to do about his conflict with the powerful and dangerous high priest?

3. In Chapter 1, what natural feature does author James Michener describe as dwarfing all others on Earth, and why?

4. Three years after Mrs. Hewlett's death, Mr. Hewlett marries a Hawaiian girl. How do the ABCFM and the local missionary community react to this news?

5. Since a new island is made of bare rock, where its soil come from?

6. How could new plants and life forms reach an island as isolated as the one described in Chapter 1?

7. What do the king and his brother, Teroro, argue bitterly about, when the time comes to build the first temple on their new island, and what compromise do they reach?

8. What hard emotional choice much Teroro make, when it is time for the group to sail north?

9. In Chapter 3, why does the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions (ABCFM) insist that Abner Hale get married before he is allowed to sail to Hawaii as a missionary?

10. By the time the island emerged again and developed into a lush paradise of unique foliage, ready for discovery, what was the one thing lacking that human explorers would need?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Examine the character of Char Nyuk Tsin. What were her most admirable traits? What traits made her life more difficult? How does Michener use her as a lens through which to view the changes in Hawaii between the 1860's and the 1950's?

Essay Topic 2

In her 100th year, Nyuk Tsin offers the following piece of advice to her grandson, Hong Kong Kee: "If someone wants to hurt you, keep him off balance. Make him take the first step toward you, for then you can watch him coming and take precautions." Discuss how this advice applies to decisions that Nyuk Tsin has made during her long life.

Essay Topic 3

In Chapter 6, after World War II, the Japanese wife of Goro Sakagama meets with Dr. Sumi Yamazaki, a young sociologist from the University of Hawaii who is making a study of Japanese women who married American G.I.s. Dr. Yamazaki's findings indicate that the happiness of those Japanese brides depends largely on whether the American husband is of Caucasian, Chinese or Japanese descent. Describe Dr. Yamazaki's findings for each of these ethnic groups, and whether you believe her theories to be true or untrue.

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