View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. Who does Edward wed?

2. How long ago did the King dispatch Earl Athelwald of East Anglia?

3. To whom does King Edgar give the thrown?

4. Why do the Viking ships not go ashore and attack the Abbey?

5. Who does Rumon see Alfrida give a cup to?

Short Essay Questions

1. When Bishop Ethelwold visited Abbess Merwinna, what did he say happened to Alfhere?

2. When Merewyn arrives at the Great Hall of Lydford Castle, how does she describe it?

3. Detail Rumon's vision at Tre-Uther.

4. How did Rumon decorated his rooms in the Glastonbury Abbey guesthouse during the 2 years he lived there?

5. How does Elfled describe the dream she had to Merewyn while in Ramsey Abbey's garden on the feast of the Assumption?

6. What terrible events followed very soon after Edward's Coronation?

7. How has Merewyn changed since she first came to work for Alfrida in the Queen's Bower?

8. Why did Rumon leave his homeland?

9. Describe Brother Finian.

10. What happened when Edward's body thane, Gunnar, is sent to Alfrida on Coronation Eve?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

In "Avalon," many brutal Viking raids are described. Compare and contrast the English views of Vikings or Norsemen to what we see when Merewyn becomes an accepted member of Icelandic society.

Essay Topic 2

Merewyn and Rumon are introduced with certain dreams, plans, and expectations. In the course of the novel, these main characters must come to terms with the difference between their dreams and the reality of the world around them. Examine how both Merewyn and Rumon navigate the journey from dreams to reality: What kind of course do they follow and how are they changed as they go on their journey? How do they adjust their idea of what Avalon is from the beginning of the novel to the end? Do they find what they seek?

Essay Topic 3

When Rumon finds Merewyn in Iceland as an accepted member of society and happily married, Rumon may have viewed that as an act of betrayal by Merewyn. Later, Rumon admits to Merewyn that he betrayed his own values and beliefs when he killed two Vikings during a raid not to save the church's treasures in an act of heroism but symbolically killing Merewyn's Viking husband and father for them having taken Merewyn away from him. Analyze the nature of these betrayals and demonstrate how they contributed to the meaning of "Avalon" as a whole.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,411 words (approx. 5 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample