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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. With whom does Webber say he worked who the narrator knows?

2. Why does Maya leave to go to town?

3. To what does the narrator suggest the jeeps are connected?

4. Where is the narrator standing?

5. How can the narrator alter his experience of pain?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Wil say about what he is meant to learn?

2. What does the narrator do that injures him and why did he do it?

3. What kind of work does Webber do and what does he believe about that work?

4. What happens to the narrator as he is attempting to recall his dream vision and what does he learn about Maya?

5. What does Long Eagle say about Charlene?

6. Wwho seems to lead the narrator into the valley, where does he go and what does he do?

7. What does the narrator learn in his encounter with Joel Lipscomb?

8. What is the narrator doing when he encounters Maya again and what does she tell him? What do they do?

9. What does Wil tell the narrator about Soul Groups?

10. What does the narrator do first upon waking the next morning, how does he feel and what does he think about his injury?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The repeated coincidences the characters enact challenge credibility. All these points are ultimately moot when considered alongside the author's apparent intention - he is not, it seems, striving to create a logical narrative, but rather to lead the reader into a broader experience of spiritual possibility and understanding.

1. Explain, with examples, why the coincidences in the book are narrative contrivances.

2. If the whole basis of this book is to proselytize for a certain spiritual viewpoint, could one argue that the coincidences were the result of "divine" intervention? Why or why not?

3. Do you think the author could have achieved his purpose without so many coincidences? Why or why not? Use examples from the text to support your opinion.

Essay Topic 2

The appearances of Joel and Maya also function on the thematic/spiritual level of analysis, in that Joel (as an embodiment of the Fear) offers a stark view of the manifestations of the Fear's power on the physical plane, while Maya (as an embodiment of enlightenment) offers a clear portrayal of the power of more evolved energy.

1. Explain, with examples, why Joel's personality offers a stark view of the manifestations of the Fear's power on the physical plane.

2. Explain, with examples, why Maya's personality (as an embodiment of enlightenment) offers a clear portrayal of the power of more evolved energy.

3. Discuss the probability that good and evil in two different people is not so nearly clear cut in the real world.

Essay Topic 3

In Chapter 6, and indeed throughout the novel, storytelling can clearly be seen as a function of thematic agenda - what happens happens because the author wants to make his philosophical point. This manifests here perhaps more blatantly and directly from other novels without such overt agendas, but at its core the purpose of storytelling remains the same no matter what story is being told - to awaken some sort of reaction and/or increased insight in the reader.

1. Explain, with examples why the first sentence above is true.

2. Why do you think a novel that overtly has an agenda would use most of the actions of the characters, the subplots, the behaviors and situations to advance that agenda more so than a typical novel.

3. Do you think the purpose of storytelling is the same no matter what story is being told - to awaken some sort of reaction and/or increased insight in the reader? Why or why not?

(see the answer keys)

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