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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What emotion did Maclean believe was the last one felt by those still living when young people have died?
(a) Sadness.
(b) Damnation.
(c) Confusion.
(d) Pity.

2. What is a gofer match?
(a) A paper match pulled from a matchbook.
(b) A small torch made by lighting rolled paper.
(c) A cigarette lighter.
(d) A stick match pulled from a matchbox.

3. Who was Hal Samsel?
(a) The spotter on the plane that dropped the Smokejumpers into the gulch.
(b) The pilot who dropped the Smokejumpers into Mann Gulch.
(c) The Loft foreman and son of a Forest Ranger.
(d) The Forest Ranger responsible for guided tours of the gulch.

4. To what did Maclean compare the fire lower on the hillside as it met the escape fire set by Dodge?
(a) Deranged serpents searching for food.
(b) Deranged soldiers running blindly into the smoke and fire.
(c) Deranged mice running toward a mouse hole and hitting a wall.
(d) Deranged military monsters enraged by the obstacle in front of them.

5. How did Maclean explain the change in the world after compassionately studying the fire at Mann Gulch?
(a) Moving from a "feeling world" to a "comprehending world" for the loss of the Smokejumpers.
(b) Moving from a "hearing world" to a "feeling world" by learning from the past.
(c) Moving from a "seeing world" to a "feeling world" for the pain of others.
(d) Moving from a "seeing world" to a "hearing world" by understanding the terrifying sounds of fire.

Short Answer Questions

1. When did Wag Dodge die?

2. Who was the chief forester in Washington D.C. at the time of the Mann Gulch fire?

3. Who was Elmer Bloom?

4. What sculptor's piece stands at the University of Chicago commemorating the Atomic Age?

5. Who did Maclean meet who finally makes the connection for him to Robert Sallee?

Short Essay Questions

1. When Maclean and his group began their trek to Mann Gulch, how did Maclean respond to those who were concerned about his heart being strong enough to make it to the site of the fire?

2. Who was Henry Thol, Sr.? What was his role in the Mann Gulch fire?

3. How did Jansson's explanation of why the non-flammable objects such as wallets and watches were found uphill from the men's bodies? How did his explanation differ from that of the Forest Service?

4. What does Maclean believe has become the symbol of fear in the late twentieth century? What artist does he site as support for this claim?

5. What did the author mean when he spoke of bi-visual and tri-visual?

6. What did the land in Mann Gulch look like in the aftermath of the fire?

7. What was the movie released in 1952 about the Mann Gulch fire? What does Maclean note about the film and its historic accuracy?

8. What did the gulch look like forty years after the fire? Was there any living vegetation?

9. Maclean believed that the Smokejumpers did not see their lives in review as they died. What did he believe their final thoughts to be? How was he able to confirm his idea?

10. What object do Sallee and Rumsey discover at the site of a fallen comrade? Why was this discovery important?

(see the answer keys)

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