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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. Who is the only person still wearing the shackles at the beginning of Chapter 11?

2. To whom is Orien sold?

3. When Birle awakens from sleeping on the boat in Chapter 6, what is she met with?

4. What does the Lord call Birle every so often?

5. What does Birle offer the Lord as a gift?

Short Essay Questions

1. What are some speculations Birle makes about why the Lord is running away from home?

2. Chapter 2 discusses a brief family background of Birle's. Who is Granda, Gran, Lyss, Da, and Nan and how are they related to Birle?

3. What do Ker and Torson say when Orien tells them of his heritage, and where he and Birle are from?

4. What leads Birle to suspect that perhaps the Lord might have committed a wrongdoing against another Lord?

5. What do the Lord and Birle discuss about second marriages and second wives?

6. For a young girl and an Innkeeper's daughter, Birle displays a very independent nature. Give a few examples of how she displays this in Chapter 1.

7. Within Chapter 1, Birle observes the mysterious figure and has a brief encounter with him. What clues lead her to the conclusion that he is a city-man, what options does she rule out, and why?

8. In the beginning of her travels down the river with the Lord, Birle notes differences between him and men that she knows. What are they?

9. Briefly describe what happened with the woman Orien loved.

10. Why does Orien pretend to be like Ker and Torson when the brothers begin to look at Birle as a woman?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Family is an important theme, especially in the beginning of the novel. Both Birle and Orien share stories of their families with one another. What is the importance of family to each character and how has family led them to their journey? How does the idea of a family tie-in to the end of the novel?

Essay Topic 2

Birle had the chance to live an easy life with no work as a Lady. In the beginning, she had wanted the escape from her Inn duties but it seems that at the end, she has changed her mind. What has brought this change about? Why does she refuse the life of a Lady and go back to one where she must do all the work herself? What are her reasons for leaving Orien and not telling him? Is she right to do so? How is she finally taking control of her Fortune's Wheel with this decision?

Essay Topic 3

The novel has several literary elements that make up the story. Pick five elements (such as setting, conflict, etc.) and briefly describe how it relates to the novel.

(see the answer keys)

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