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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 Ruth say to Gary after his skunk encounter in "Major Wrecks"?

2. Where are the dogs when Gary sleeps in the Prelude?

3. What happens to the moose on the trapping trail?

4. What becomes Gary's mantra?

5. Why doesn't Gary feel pain when the snow hook pierces his boot?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does Gary stop trapping, killing, and hunting animals?

2. What paradox of the race does Gary write about in "Alaska"?

3. At the end of the book, what does Gary ask his friend to do? Why?

4. At the Rohn River checkpoint, how does Gary rationalize the idea of quitting the race?

5. What goes wrong for Gary between the start of the race and the time he rejoins the trail?

6. Describe how Gary and his team descend into Dalzell Gorge.

7. Describe Don's Cabin. How did it get its name?

8. What happens to the musher who leaves Shaktolik just before Gary does?

9. Gary writes in the Prologue, "Everything had been done wrong." What does he think he did wrong?

10. Why is Gary in a doctor's office at the end of the book?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss the role of setting in the book. Include a discussion of time and at least four places.

Essay Topic 2

Why do you think the author chooses to begin the book with a foreshadowing incident? Give at least three possible reasons and fully support each.

Essay Topic 3

What positive experiences does Gary take away from his experience training for and running of the Iditarod? Discuss at least four.

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