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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. How old is Shelley in this chapter?

2. What is Lyman's main concern at this point

3. What happens to Pricey?

4. How does the author tell the reader about Susan and Oliver's life after the irrigation project failed?

5. What does Lyman say is wisdom

Short Essay Questions

1. Why is the job offer from US Geological Survey a mixed blessing?

2. What is the underlying message to Augusta in Susan's letter from Mexico?

3. How does Shelley's reading of the manifesto bring the reader back to the present day of Lyman's 1970?

4. Susan and Oliver separate as he takes the surveying job and she moves the family to Victoria BC - how does part of the Wards' life compare with Lyman's own personal history?

5. Why do Oliver and Susan argue when he returns from the mine inspection in Mexico?

6. What is the final rip in the fabric of the Ward marriage?

7. How does this chapter highlight the dangers of the West, and how does the author foreshadow the end of happy times for the Wards?

8. What are Oliver's reasons for sending Pricey back to England?

9. Why did Susan send Ollie away?

10. How does Oliver disappoint Susan and embarrass her to her family and friends?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What role did Shelley Rasmussen play in the plot movement in this novel? How did she compare with Susan Ward in Lyman's eyes? How did the author use Shelley to explain Lyman's character?

Essay Topic 2

What are the themes of this novel, and did the author express them well?

Essay Topic 3

How does the author expound on his theme of the importance of choosing the right spouse, or how the choice of a marriage partner rules our life?

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