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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. Where does Matthiessen keep his letters?

2. What news does Jang-bu bring Matthiessen's group at Crystal Mountain?

3. What is Matthiessen worried will happen by the Kang Pass?

4. What does Matthiessen's group have a good view of as they hike around Crystal Mountain?

5. What rare event is Schaller happy to witness outside the monastery?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Matthiessen notice about Tukten that makes him stand apart from the other sherpas and the group as a whole?

2. Who gets sick along the last leg of the journey and requires immediate treatment?

3. What is the rumor surrounding Tukten when he goes with Gyaltsen to collect the mail and supplies in town?

4. What does Matthiessen share from the letters he receives from Schaller dated December 8th and 9th in the last part of the book?

5. When Matthiessen thinks about the letters in his rucksack, he grows restless. What does he start to imagine?

6. What event do Matthiessen and Schaller witness outside the monastery that surprises them because they did not expect to see that animal or for it to act in the way that it does?

7. What is the rare event concerning the bharal that Schaller is delighted to see outside the monastery?

8. When Jang-bu and another sherpa go in search of firewood, where do Matthiessen and Schaller wander and what do they find?

9. With whom does Matthiessen share a special bond and what about this individual surprises him in Jumla?

10. What is the story that the locals tell Matthiessen on his descent down the mountains after the group leaves Murwa?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What is the transformation that occurs to Matthiessen on Crystal Mountain that changes his perspective to some degree? How does he act consequently?

Essay Topic 2

Both Peter Matthiessen and George Schaller are the people this book focuses on the most.

Part 1) Compare Peter Matthiessen to George Schaller. How are these two individuals similar and how are they different?

Part 2) What inspirational purpose does Schaller's mission to Nepal ultimately offer Peter Matthiessen? Elaborate on this.

Part 3) The two men have ultimately two very different experiences. Why does this happen? Schaller encounters the snow leopard at the end, which makes him happy. Peter Matthiessen experiences something different, bonding with the sherpa Tukten who ultimately disappears. Share your opinion on these two experiences.

Essay Topic 3

Create a brief portrait study of Peter Matthiessen. What does he look like? What are his positive personality traits? What are some of his negative characteristics? What are his hopes and fears? What motivates him through his life? How does he change from the beginning of the book, to his trip to the Shey Monastery, and finally as he gets ready to leave Kathmandu?

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