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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. At the time of publication of the notice of Chris's death, what problem did the police have?
(a) They had beed unable to get the body out.
(b) They did not have forensic labs in that part of Alaska.
(c) They had been unable to identify him.
(d) They had no response from the public about the body.

2. What did Billie realize as she get to the bus?
(a) The place looked like a frozen desert.
(b) It was so isolated that no one could remain sane there.
(c) Chris had found the farthest place he could to get away from them.
(d) The terraine looked like where she grew up and that Chris must have loved it.

3. What similarity is there between Jon's relationship with his father and Chris's relationship with Walt?
(a) Both fathers turned out to be bigamists.
(b) Both fathers were old and out of touch.
(c) Both fathers were weak willed and seldom gave their children advice.
(d) Secrets were revealed and both young men resented the hypocracy.

4. What is significant about the cloth belt Krakauer founds in the bus?
(a) Chris probably didn't want to ruin the leather belt he had made at Ron Franz's house.
(b) It must have been made when Chris got too thin for his jeans.
(c) Chris had made it to keep himself busy.
(d) He seemd to have made it to tie up his paperback books.

5. Who gave Krakauer dinner and a place to sleep in Petersberg?
(a) A drifter named Jan Buress.
(b) A kind woman named Kai Sandburn.
(c) A policeman offered him a jail cell.
(d) The captain of a tuna fishing boat.

Short Answer Questions

1. How does Roman Dial, who teaches at the University of Alaska, interpret Chris's actions?

2. What is prominently displayed in Carine McCandless's home?

3. What is so poignant about the final photograph Chris took of himself holding his good-bye note?

4. What spurred Krakauer on after his failed attempt to climb Devil's Thumb?

5. What ambitions did Jon Krakauer's father have for all of his children?

Short Essay Questions

1. Who was Sam McCandless, and why was he the one to notify Chris's parents?

2. How did Chris manage the last leg of his trip into Fairbanks?

3. Explain Jim Gillien's difficulty in contacting the Alaska police.

4. What do Carine and her parents regret after the fact of Chris's death?

5. Describe why the McCandlesses could not take the exact trek to the bus that Chris had taken.

6. What discovery about himself did Krakauer make after conquering Devil's Thumb?

7. What discovery did Chris make the summer after his freshman year in college that drove a deeper wedge between him and his father?

8. How does swainsonine become lethal in the body?

9. What is so unusual about Chris's never seeing another human being while he was camped at the bus?

10. What defense does Krakauer make of Chris's ability to survive in the wild?

(see the answer keys)

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