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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. Why do the narrator and Wil become aware of Feyman?

2. Who tries to convince Feyman to stop the Experiment?

3. Where do Webber and the narrator go when they leave the bunker?

4. Into what did wandering tribes of humans evolve?

5. What does the narrator say the Gnostic Gospels were?

Short Essay Questions

1. What did the narrator see in his vision about the teachings of Christ?

2. What does the narrator tell about a previous life of his as a monk?

3. Describe what the four members of the Group first do when they meet at the waterfall and what they see.

4. What does the group do after Charlene explains why she is in the valley?

5. In Chapter 8, what does the narrator hear as he returns to the physical plane and what does Webber tell him about the noise?

6. Who is one of the souls the narrator recognizes in hell?

7. What did the narrator see begin to emerge that changed the way humans interacted with the world?

8. How does the narrator describe hell in Chapter 7?

9. What does the narrator discuss with Wil concerning the Christian church?

10. What happens when the Group decide to try and end the Experiment by combining their energies?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Is it stereotypical that insight into the human/animal relationship comes from a Native American character, who in many narratives is portrayed as having a "special" relationship with nature? Or is it archetypal? Might it not have more thematic weight and/or depth if the narrator had REALIZED it, rather than having it explained to him as he has had so many things, repetitively and almost tediously, explained to him/preached at him ... and therefore preached at the reader?

1. Is it stereotypical that insight into the human/animal relationship comes from a Native American character, who in many narratives is portrayed as having a "special" relationship with nature? Explain what you think this statements means with examples from this book and your own life and knowledge.

2. After researching the terms stereotype and archetype, argue for this area of the book to be one or the other. Use examples from the text to illustrate your points.

3. Explain why someone might learn something better and retain it longer if they had learned or researched it themselves rather than had someone tell them.

Essay Topic 2

It could be argued that the point of the book is not to create a great work of literature, but to create a work of spiritual guidance, which would suggest that the actual writing contained between the book's covers needs to be serviceable, no more - to create the circumstances for the more important spiritual explanation. On that level, the writing and storytelling function adequately. In terms of that spiritual guidance, the main point to consider here and throughout the narrative is its essential nature, and the manifestations/explanations of that nature.

1. Do you think that a work of spiritual guidance can be both well written and enlightening? Explain your reasoning.

2. Argue for or against the idea that the writing in this book is mediocre. Use examples from the text to support your position.

3. Explain in detail, with examples, how the author might have been able to write a better story and still convey his ideas.

Essay Topic 3

If a story can be likened to a jigsaw puzzle, the construction of a narrative telling that story can be likened to the careful placement of pieces of that puzzle in order to slowly, tantalizingly, and inevitably fill the reader with the desire to see the whole picture. In that sense, the telling of this particular story functions well, with details of meaning, incident, and relationship complimenting and illuminating each other with highly intriguing results.

1. What do you think the first sentence above means? Use examples from the text to support your answer.

2. In view of all the novels you have read or heard about or movies you have seen, explain why leaving readers with a "what happens next" question is universal. Use examples from this book and other books you have read to illustrate this principle and why it is used.

3. Do you believe the second sentence is true? Why or why not? Use examples from the text to support your answer.

(see the answer keys)

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