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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 do Norma and Gloria sell to Richard and Joe?

2. On what mountain range do two climbers witness the deaths of two other climbers?

3. What object does Joe have trouble with in the beginning of the story?

4. What is a patina?

5. What are Joe Simpson and Ian Whittaker doing when the ground breaks out from underneath them?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does Simon cut the rope?

2. On page 65, Joe says, 'I knew it would be a good day.' By the end of the day, how and why does his view of the day change?

3. Why do Simon and Joe avoid the issue of discussing their game plan after Joe's injury?

4. On the eve of the summit conquest, what does Simon do that leaves Joe in disbelief?

5. While trying to find the North Ridge again after leaving the summit, what happens to Simon?

6. Why does Joe consider standing on the summit an unsettling anticlimax?

7. What does Joe like about Simon's personality?

8. What is Joe's plan of action if Simon falls through, or off, the ridge again?

9. Compare or contrast the influence of the incident on The Bonatti Pillar on the climbing careers of Joe Simpson and Ian Whittaker.

10. What happens on The Bonatti Pillar on Les Petits Drus in the French Alps?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

At seven o'clock on the night before their departure, Simon and Richard hear an 'eerie wail' that Richard dismisses as a dog (p172). Study the time line of events. Is it possible that the wail they hear is Joe's first cry for help that he howls into the night from the highest point of the moraines? Why or why not? Support or refute this with evidence.

Essay Topic 2

In the Epilogue, "Bad Memories", Joe talks about his experience of returning to Siula Grande for the filming of "Touching the Void". He says repeatedly that he feels "panic" and mentions post-traumatic stress syndrome. Research the effects of post-traumatic stress syndrome, its history, and the advances in its treatment. Why doesn't Joe get treatment for the disorder? Does he have the disorder? What has helped with getting over his traumatic experience?

Essay Topic 3

Joe mentions more than once in the book that he has strange feelings of dread or uneasiness before bad things happen. Why do you think this is? What are Joe's ambiguous feelings on the summit? Research other climbers' similar comments, and compare. Why does he continue to climb mountains if he is so dubious about the ultimate objective? Is the journey more important, or the destination, or even the return journey? Do you think the unspoken final objective of mountain climbers is the summit, or actually making it back alive to tell about it?

(see the answer keys)

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