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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 is spindrift?

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

3. What is Joe doing in the opening scene?

4. How does Joe describe Simon's eyes?

5. As Simon lowers Joe, what causes the most pain?

Short Essay Questions

1. After Joe tells Simon that he has broken his leg, he describes the pitiful look that Simon gives him as, 'a distance given to a wounded animal which could not be helped' (p74). From Simon's point of view, why does he give him this look?

2. Joe describes the beginning of their practice climb on Yantauri as 'inauspicious' (p24). Why?

3. 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?

4. What observation does Joe make about tents in the opening scene of the book?

5. Describe the first bivouac site on Siula Grande.

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

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

8. At the beginning of "Tempting Fate", what does Joe say about his fingers, and how does he deal with them?

9. On page 65 in "On the Edge", Joe says, 'Funny how my anxiety [about Simon's frostbitten fingers] seemed to have more to do with whether he would be able to carry on climbing after we got down rather than concern for his injuries'. Why is this statement significant?

10. 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?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What would you do in a similar or identical predicament as Joe's? Simon's? Why?

Essay Topic 2

Joe provides a wealth of imagery when describing the figures he sees in the ice cliff shortly after emerging from the crevasse. Comment on these, providing at least five examples. When we read vivid descriptions, this usually leads our minds to other images of things that we have experienced. Describe what you see, as related to your own experience, when you read his descriptions. How do you relate to his descriptions? Do you see any significance in what these figures look like and/or in what the figures are doing? Do you view these figures as ambiguous in any way? If so, how? Which of Joe's primal needs or core beliefs are these figures appealing to or taunting, if any?

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.

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This section contains 1,200 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample