View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. Whom does Matthiessen's group see along their journey that reminds the group of mortality?

2. What do the sherpas do that reminds Matthiessen of being in New York with Deborah?

3. Which two groups of indigenous people does Matthiessen think are similar?

4. What two conditions make some of the sherpas and porters turn back and return home?

5. What animal could possibly leave behind a sign similar to that of a snow leopard?

Short Essay Questions

1. While Matthiessen sits outside the stone hut and relaxes in the sun, what does Schaller do?

2. When did Matthiessen meet his wife and how does he feel about that experience while writing the novel?

3. What does Matthiessen have hallucinations about that inspire him to pull out his book The Tibetan Book of the Dead?

4. What makes Schaller furious because he is afraid of being stranded?

5. How does Matthiessen adjust to the higher elevations once they pass 12,000 feet?

6. Whom does Matthiessen think about when the sherpa fetches him and Schaller wine to drink in the old cow shed?

7. What does a sherpa point out to Schaller while they take a break on the mountainside that makes Schaller happy?

8. When the young biologist asks Matthiessen why he is on the journey with Schaller, what does he say?

9. What does Matthiessen remark about Asia as they begin their trip?

10. What do Matthiessen and the party see as they hike up the mountain in high spirits that reminds them of their mortality?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Matthiessen learns about Nepal during the trip and in particular, its environmental problems. Describe what he notices and what its impact in on Nepal's economy as well as the forested habitats. Without conservation, what could happen to these areas? Explain.

Essay Topic 2

In a simile, the author might compare an individual to an animal. Matthiessen compares Tukten the sherpa to the snow leopard. Why do you think he does this? Is this comparison convincing? Why?

Essay Topic 3

Explain the role of Tibetans in the Himalayas in the 1990s when the people mentioned in this book are described. What rights do they have or lack? What freedoms, restrictions, and rules do they have? How does that differ from what they have today?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 788 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample