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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 kind of lunch box does Leni take to school?

2. Where is Matthew's sister away attending college?

3. What poem by Robert Service is quoted in Chapter 6?

4. Why does Cora believe that Ernt is innocent of committing the vandalism at the saloon?

5. What are Large Marge and Mr. Walker doing when Leni returns home in Chapter 12?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Ernt behave toward Cora and Leni in the morning after his violent explosion in Chapter 10? How do they respond?

2. Who are the Harlans and what connection do they have to the Allbrights?

3. How does Leni characterize her parents' relationship in Part 1 of the novel?

4. How is the town of Kaneq described when the Allbrights arrive?

5. What does Tom announce at the community meeting that he holds at the Kicking Moose Saloon? How does Ernt respond?

6. Who is Large Marge? What impressions are imparted on the reader regarding her character when she is first introduced?

7. How does the author illustrate the changes as winter comes in Chapter 8?

8. How is Leni's school described in Chapter 5? Who are her classmates?

9. What are Leni's impressions of the settings in Chapters 3 and 4 as the Allbrights travel to their destination?

10. How is Ernt described when his character is introduced in Chapter 1?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Describe and analyze the plot structure of The Great Alone. What is the inciting event that sets the plot into motion? Where does the rising action begin? Where is the climax? What information does the reader learn in the falling action and denouement?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the theme/motif of literature in The Great Alone. What are some of the literary references and/or allusions made by the author in the text? How do these literary works connect to this novel thematically? How do these references help to develop the characters in the story?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the theme of progress versus tradition in The Great Alone. Why is Ernt so opposed to the progress that Tom wants to bring to Kaneq? What drives Tom to bring progress to the community? With whom do you most agree in this regard? Why?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 848 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample