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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. John puts on his long underwear and plays

2. The range of human knowledge today creates

3. Why does the Narrator almost leave the building with Chris?

4. Above the timberline, the travelers see

5. The mechanics where the Narrator had taken his motorcycle when it was seizing did not fix it properly since they

Short Essay Questions

1. How had Chris' YMCA camp experience seemingly made him ill-prepared for actual mountain hiking?

2. The breakthrough of blue sky allows the Narrator and Chris to see the top of the ridge they are climbing. At the same time, the Narrator seems to reach a breakthrough in his Chautauqua. What did Phaedrus realize about Quality that was such a breakthrough?

3. What are some of the things John likes about Miles City, Montana? What do these indicate about the city? About John?

4. How does the Narrator distinguish between European and Native American ghosts?

5. How do the DeWeeses respond to seeing the Narrator again? What are their actions and reactions? What are their emotions and thoughts?

6. How are the tasks that the Narrator and Chris perform related to the discourse of this chapter?

7. Why is the Narrator apprehensive about seeing DeWeese?

8. Which gumption trap is most often a problem for you and how to you overcome it?

9. Falling rock signals the aging and crumbling of the mountain. These small rockfalls serve as warnings. The Narrator, unlike Phaedrus, is able to heed warnings. How does the Narrator heed the warnings both physically and psychologically at this time?

10. How did the mechanics who had worked on the Narrator's motorcycle prove that caring about what you are doing is essential to doing it right?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

If you have read either 1984 or Brave New World, explain how that book fits with what the Narrator is saying about a world without Quality, a world of "squareness."

Essay Topic 2

When Sarah had asked Phaedrus if he was teaching quality, she certainly had no way of knowing what that question would do to him mentally. What do you suppose Sarah had meant when she asked the question?

Essay Topic 3

The Narrator is in a sarcophagus in one part of the book (chapter 23). Earlier he had been in a large, white room. Both had a glass door with his family on the other side. In both cases, Chris wants him to open the door. Why could neither Chris nor his father open the door? What did the door symbolize? What was truly separating them? In one case, the Narrator tells Chris he will meet him at the top of the mountain, but in chapter 23, he says he will see him at the bottom of the ocean. What is the difference? Is there any progress between the two dreams?

(see the answer keys)

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