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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. After Chris left home, why didnn't Carine get upset when he won't tell her where he was?

2. What is significant about August 5?

3. What does Krakauer think actually killed Chris?

4. What did Billie find in the bus?

5. Racing against a storm, Krakauer reaches the summit of the Thumb. How does he describe it?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. In Chris's journal, what did he think was happening to him?

3. What was the irony Krakauer thought about as he kept attempting to climb Devil's Thumb?

4. What was Chris's problem with his parents monetary success?

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

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

7. As Krakauer, visiting the site, stood on the banks of the raging Teklanika River, what advantage did he have that Chris did not have?

8. How was Krakauer's Alaska experience different from Chris's?

9. How does swainsonine become lethal in the body?

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Given the amount of information Krakauer includes about Chris's abilities, write and OP-ED piece about another successful course Chris might have taken to realize his ideals. You might want to have him go into the Peace Corps or get involved in something like Habitat for Humanity.

Essay Topic 2

Write an essay about loneliness. Using Ron Franz as an example, write about how losing loved ones can affect one's life and what one can do to fill the void. Give your opinion of Ron Franz as to whether he had a good plan for living alone.

Essay Topic 3

Write about respect for authority. Using the example of Chris failing one course, physics, because he refused to turn in his assignments according to the way the professor wanted them. Then broaden the point of view. You may want to write about taggers (delinquents who paint graffiti on public buildings). Conclude with your idea about what society would be like if everyone simply did whatever he or she pleased without regard to others or the law.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 943 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample