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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 is Rontu doing on days Karana works on the canoe?

2. What does Karana tell Tutok that proves she trusts the Aleut girl?

3. Why does Karana deny living in the cave when the Aleut girl asks her?

4. What does the name Rontu mean in English?

5. What does Karana do when she no longer hears the man from the ship calling to her?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Karana do after the Aleut girl finds her and Rontu at the cave?

2. What happens after Karana spears the giant devilfish?

3. Summarize Karana's feelings toward the animals on the island

4. Compare Rontu with his son, Rontu-Aru.

5. What does Karana discover in Black Cave on the southern coast of the island that frightens her?

6. Karana makes several trips to her cave during the day to move all her belongings. On the final trip, she has a feeling someone has been there. What happens?

7. What is Karana worried about when she takes her new spear to go and hunt devilfish?

8. Where does Karana make a grave for Rontu and what does she place on it?

9. Other than training the birds, how does Karana pass the time throughout the spring?

10. After two summers alone on the island, Karana sees the Aleut ship heading toward the island. How does she prepare for her move to the hidden cave she had set up in case the Aleuts returned?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

1) What is the message O'Dell is trying to convey in the novel?

2) Does he depict a realistic and relevant view of human nature through Karana's character?

3) Are the human qualities of the character too sentimental, cynical, or unwilling to change? Explain.

Essay Topic 2

1) Summarize how O'Dell uses local color and imagery to describe the island.

2) Cite examples of plants, animals, and sea life described in the novel.

3) Does the imagery O'Dell uses depict a clear and accurate picture of the island?

4) Use examples from the story to justify the answer.

Essay Topic 3

1) Summarize the survival skills Karana develops.

2) Include her methods of constructing and building her shelters.

3) How does she find and prepare food?

4) How does she tame animals?

5) What are her fishing methods?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 866 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample