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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 did Harrer escape to?

2. What trapped Primas and Gollackner on the mountain?

3. Why did Fraissl and Brankowski turn back?

4. Where was Detassis injured?

5. What did Rebisch and Vörg do to make a place to spend the night on the mountain?

Short Essay Questions

1. What happened to Bartolo Sandri and Mario Menti, who attempted to climb the North Face early in the summer of 1938?

2. What research did Harrer do for his book?

3. Who were the climbers forced out of Switzerland in 1937?

4. What are the hazards on the North Face when the ice is melted?

5. What knowledge did Sedlmayer and Mehringer have and lack when they attempted to climb the North Face?

6. What unusual attempt to climb the North Face did Fuchs and Monney consider but then reject?

7. What did the author mean by "Come back safe, my friends"?

8. Describe the first climb up the Eiger.

9. Describe Maix and Harrer's collaboration.

10. What seemed unexplainable about Primas and Gollackner's actions on their climb?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Extreme mountain climbing pushes the limits of human ability. Discuss this aspect of climbing in Harrer's book.

1) What drives human being to push the limits of human ability, according to Harrer? Is this a worthwhile pursuit?

2) How do the limits of human accomplishment change over time? Does climbing the North Face become less of an accomplishment in any way over time?

3) What does it mean to say that a task is impossible? How does the impossible become achievable?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the idea of rescue in Harrer's book.

1) Why are rescue attempts not guaranteed for climbers? How does climbing affect the local guides and governments who participate in rescue attempts?

2) How does Harrer view rescuers and rescue attempts? Are his portrayals of rescuers romanticized?

3) Should climbers expect rescue? What aspects of human nature make rescue attempts inevitable? What happens when rescue attempts are impossible? Discuss specific rescue attempts in the book.

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the point of view of Harrer's THE WHITE SPIDER.

1) How does Harrer portray climbers and events that he knows of through research, compared to those that he knows personally?

2) How does the shift in point of view to Harrer's personal account of his experiences affect the book?

3) When does Harrer use personal narration, aside from the account of his own climb of the North Face? How do these personal interjections affect the book?

(see the answer keys)

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