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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 Marie doing when she hears Emil's scythe?

2. What impresses Carl most about Marie?

3. When does Marie say the world is the most beautiful?

4. How does Carl feel after seeing Marie while walking alone one morning?

5. Whom does Alexandra ask to help her quiet Emil's cries at the beginning of the book?

Short Essay Questions

1. What makes Frank furious when he reads the newspaper in Part 2, Chapter 8?

2. How has Alexandra's plan come to fruition at the beginning of Part 2?

3. What is the common view of Emil in Part 2, and why is this so surprising?

4. What does Carl witness between Marie and Emil one morning while walking alone?

5. What does Emil think of Ivar's cave?

6. What kind of hardships has John Bergson faced in his attempts at farming?

7. What is Frank upset about when he comes home while Carl and Alexandra are visiting?

8. What does Carl do to cheer Alexandria up when she returns home at the beginning of the book?

9. What happens when Alexandra sees Carl in the garden?

10. What do Alexandra's brothers say about Carl as they leave the family dinner?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Sacrifice was a theme that was very prevalent in this book. Who were the characters most affected by this theme, and how did they allow sacrifice to change their lives?

Essay Topic 2

Alexandra presented a very interesting and unique philosophy on life. What was this philosophy, and how did this different idealism affect the people around her?

Essay Topic 3

This book takes place in a few different settings. Describe some of these settings and how they affected the course of the plot. Why might Willa Cather have chosen these particular places for this plot to take place?

(see the answer keys)

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