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

3. What kind of awards does Emil commonly win at school at the beginning of Part 2?

4. Why is Emil afraid of Ivar?

5. What does Alexandra want to buy from Ivar?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Alexandra say about her family when her farm hands criticize them for disagreeing with her?

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

3. What does Carl say to Alexandra about Marie during their visit?

4. What does Marie tell Emil to do in order to get what he desires from life, and what does he reply to this suggestion?

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

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

7. What does Alexandra decide to do after looking at the riverside property?

8. What does Amedee tell Emil he should do to be happy?

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

10. How is Lou described by the author?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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?

Essay Topic 2

Despair was a theme that was placed in a number of sensitive places in this plot. What are some of these places, and what role did despair play in this book?

Essay Topic 3

What role does symbolism play in the story and where does it appear? How is the plot altered by the presence of these symbols?

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