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

2. When Joe falls and lands on the slope at the base of the cliff, what happens?

3. While Simon is lowering Joe, Joe swears a lot, mostly at...

4. As Simon lowers Joe down the mountain, how is Joe facing?

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

Short Essay Questions

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

2. At the beginning of "Disaster", what is Joe's attitude?

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

4. After breaking his leg, why doesn't Joe ask Simon for help?

5. What occurs to Joe at the beginning of "On the Edge"?

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

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

8. When Joe and Simon start their ascent of the first ice wall on Siula Grande, what is Joe's attitude toward what they are doing?

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

10. Explain how Joe feels for the two days immediately prior to setting out for Siula Grande.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Did Simon do the right thing by cutting the rope? Joe staunchly defends him. Discuss the moral and ethical issues at hand.

Essay Topic 2

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 3

Compare and/or contrast Joe's use of patterns and rhythm throughout the book. Does he use them as a function of his personality, as a result of the essence of climbing, or out of necessity? Discuss the appearance of these patterns in climbing, in the rescue attempt, and in Joe's journey back to base camp.

(see the answer keys)

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