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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 has Dan failed to enter?

2. What does the second window show?

3. How has Mama Chia made peace with being comfortable?

4. What does Dan's disembodied self do?

5. Why is Dan afraid?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Mama Chia say about second-floor energies?

2. How does the level at which Dan is in this section manifest in sexual energy?

3. What happens with Dan and the punks and do you think it will have significance later?

4. Describe Dan's experience of "rebirth."

5. What does Dan realize he has to do and what do you think that means?

6. Explain the incident with the starfish and the possible meaning of it.

7. What is foreshadowed in this section?

8. What do you think Mama Chia means when she says one must clean the lower floors before ascending to higher floors?

9. Who does Dan meet and what does he advice Dan to do about the bullies?

10. Why do you think Dan dreads what lies ahead?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Besides being a retired banker, Mama Chia is also a midwife, who is busy bringing a new life into the world while Dan is recuperating from exposure and dehydration. Discuss one of the following:

What are the parallels between Dan's surfboard experience and Mama Chia bringing a new baby into the world?

Discuss the seeming paradox that Mama Chia works for and retires from a bank and is also a shaman and midwife.

What do you think Dan needs to birth?

Essay Topic 2

While Millman is in India, he does many of the things Westerners seems to do when they are searching in the Near East for "enlightenment." Discuss the following:

What are some of the activities in which Dan participates in his travels in India?

Why do you think the things Dan does in India do not seem to bring him the results for which he is hoping?

Why do you think many Westerners see India/Nepal/Tibet as places where they can find a spiritual path/enlightenment?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss one of the following:

Compare and contrast Dan as who he is at the beginning of the book to who he seems to be at the end of the book.

Compare and contrast Mama Chia's spiritual ideas with those of your own.

Compare and contrast Dan's experience on the surfboard with the most harrowing experience you have had and what you both learned from your experience.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,091 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample