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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 does the narrator say about the tension between Webber and Maya?

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

3. Into what did wandering tribes of humans evolve?

4. What does Feyman hope to gain if he is successful in the Experiment?

5. What does Maya tell Webber and the narrator?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does the narrator connect Charlene with one of his previous lives?

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

3. What does the narrator suggest about the 1960's?

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

5. Into what is the narrator drawn in hell and what does he see?

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

7. Who is in the cave when Webber and the narrator arrive there and what does she/he say?

8. What does Wil say is their task concerning the Group of Seven?

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

10. What does the narrator say he realized about humans born into the world?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

There are three clearly defined sections to Chapter 9. The first and third continue the process of entwining the novel's narrative and spiritual intent, moving the characters towards confrontations with their external and internal destinies. The author 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. The lengthy middle section of the book, while undeniably preachy, is a clear explanation of what the author sees that possibility and understanding bring into being.

1. Using examples explain how you perceive sections one and three of Chapter 9 move the characters towards confrontations with their external and internal destinies.

2. The author 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. Do you think this statement is true? Why or why not? When you read this book, was the narrative important to you or only the exploration of the spiritual understanding? Why or why not?

3. The lengthy middle section of the book, while undeniably preachy, is a clear explanation of what the author sees that possibility and understanding bring into being. Explain, with examples, whether you think that author has fulfilled this statement.

Essay Topic 2

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 3

There is a development of what might be called a parallel narrative or subplot - the deepening of the mystery of what happened during that past encounter between Natives and Whites. This subplot functions as all subplots do - to illuminate and define events and/or circumstances in the main narrative, albeit perhaps with more thematic and/or spiritual relevance than most subplots.

1. Explain what you think the above statements mean. Use examples from the text to support your answer.

2. Do you think the subplot was essential to the book? Why or why not? What did the subplot add?

3. Explain, in depth, what you learned about the characters from the subplot.

4. Do you believe the author has suggested the characters' personalities and behaviors are essentially static from lifetime to lifetime? Why or why not? Use examples from the text to support your answer.

(see the answer keys)

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