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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 advantage did Ayla have over other Clan women?

2. Who of the Hadumai group could speak Zelandonii?

3. What does Jondalar wish the healer would let him do?

4. What were the traveling cakes made of?

5. Why didn't Ayla want one of the older reindeer?

Short Essay Questions

1. What information did Creb give Ayla on signs from her totem?

2. In what ways did Whinney help Ayla accomplish the reindeer hunt?

3. Who was Iza and what had she told Ayla on the night that she died?

4. What idea struck Ayla?

5. What had Broud done, and how was it a sign of an immature leader?

6. What transformation did Jetamio undergo when she smiled, and what impression did Jondalar get from that smile?

7. Why had Jondalar inadvertently hurt Radonio?

8. What is the difference between Thonolan and Jondalar?

9. What events led to Ayla making fire with flint and iron pyrite?

10. Why was there always someone present when a young woman lost her virginity, or rather, had her First Rites?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss Ayla's preconceptions about the Others. Why did she fear meeting them, on some level? Why was she eager to meet them? What do the Other's represent to Ayla, on a deeper level?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss why Jean M. Auel may have decided to kill Thonolan off. What purpose did this destruction of a character play upon the developing plot of the book? Was this death necessary for plot development? Why or why not?

Essay Topic 3

Consider Ayla's fears regarding the Others. Are her fears well founded? Why or why not? What is unlikely to happen to Ayla that the Clan often became the victims of?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 887 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample