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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. Who is found dead after Rumon and Finian see that Tre-Uther is burned?

2. What kind of a ruler is Ethelred?

3. What commands does Leif present to the people when he arrives at the feast?

4. Who's commands does Leif present to the people when he arrives at the feast?

5. What does Erik the Red have for his son?

Short Essay Questions

1. What did the Abbess Merwinna request of Merewyn?

2. What is Thora, Merewyn's daughter, like in June of 1000?

3. Why did Orm stiffen when the porter at Glastonbury Abbey referred to the Vikings as "dreadful Danes?"

4. When Finian and Rumon went up to the monastery, what did the prior, Poldu, say happened to Merewyn during the Viking raid?

5. How did Ketil dress on his way to the Allthing, two weeks after Rumon left Iceland?

6. Why couldn't Merewyn get the land grants and the title of Thane for Orm that she wanted in the year 1002?

7. How did Bishop Ethelwold reply to Merewyn when she asked him where she should go upon her return from her journey to bury the Abbess' heart at St. Petroc's?

8. What is the Allthing?

9. How did Merewyn describe the Hafnarfell Mountains?

10. How does Merewyn describe Thorbjorg, the seeress from Brattalid?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss the way that the techniques Seton uses to make the setting vivid and real to readers and how effective these techniques are. What are the primary locations? How are these places made realistic? How does Seton use extended description, background information and specific detail to make the setting come alive for readers? How do Merewyn and Rumon fit in the setting: Do they seem at home or out of place? How do their reactions and interactions with the setting affect the realism of the locations?

Essay Topic 2

Consider the relationship between the characters and the setting for "Avalon." Think about the way that the characters are described, their characteristics, the conflicts that they face, the actions they take, and their emotional reactions. Compare these qualities to the setting--to the way that it is described, to the particular things that are described, and to the words that are used to describe the place(s) where "Avalon" takes place. Explain how the setting of "Avalon" is representative (or not) of the characters.

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.

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