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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 does Chi'idzigyaak's daughter give her as she leaves?

2. What negative factor does Sa' mention when they realize they have found the stream they were looking for?

3. What is the result of returning circulation to Sa's legs?

4. What do the younger women do for the old women?

5. How do the women know they are traveling in the right direction?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why do the two old women decide that they cannot remain in the camp where they have been abandoned?

2. What good deed have The People done for the two women as they leave them behind?

3. What painful memories does Chi'idzigyaak recall?

4. Why are the two women feeling worse when they wake up at their new campsite in Chapter 4, "A Painful Journey"?

5. Why do the two old women take care not to work too hard in the cold?

6. Why do the two women boil the squirrel meat and drink the broth rather than eating the meat?

7. Why do the two old women feel "almost superstitious" about their good luck in hunting?

8. Why did Sa' escape punishment for refusing to do women's work as a young woman?

9. Why was Sa' finally banished from her group as a young woman?

10. What slows the two old women's progress when they wake up on the second day of travel?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The People had broken their own rules by treating the women as babies. Why had they done so? What was the effect upon the women? In your essay, discuss the benefits and pitfalls of the affection with which The People had treated the two old women.

Essay Topic 2

A legend is defined as a story that is realistic and may be based on fact. It is told and retold over generations because it has some general application to humanity as a whole. What is it about this story that has such impact that Velma Wallis was determined to spend years preparing it to be read by those outside the immediate social group, the Athabascans? Why does this story qualify as a legend?

Essay Topic 3

One of the themes in this story is transformation. In your essay, explain how the abandonment brought about changes in the old women that made it possible for them to succeed in a harsh environment.

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