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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. What does the place where the ducks live remind Per Hansa of?

2. What is Hans Olsa doing at the beginning of Book 1, Chapter 2?

3. Who is the interpreter in the conversation between the men of the large caravan and the settlers of Spring Creek?

4. Which of the following does NOT describe Tonseten?

5. What is the name on the stake that Per Hansa finds in the ground at Hans Olsa's southwest corner?

Short Essay Questions

1. From the exchange between Tonseten and Hans Olsa in the beginning of Book 1, Chapter 2, what can you gather is their opinion of Per Hansa?

2. What happens to the cows of the settlement toward the end of Book 1, Chapter 3? What is the reaction of the settlers?

3. Why does Per Hansa go to the Indian camp in Book 1, Chapter 3? What does he discover once he gets there?

4. Why is Per Hansa left behind when the other men travel to town? How does he react to this?

5. What is the story of the man and woman who come to Spring Creek with the woman tied up in the wagon?

6. In Book 1, Chapter 5, a group of settlers comes upon the Spring Creek settlement and, as Per Hansa and the other men are gone, it is left to Tonseten to greet them. What is their nationality? What is Tonseten's reaction to them and why?

7. What happens to Beret after she comes to know the minister and after he leaves?

8. What does the woman who has been tied in the back of the wagon do while she is at Per Hansa's house?

9. What is the Hansa family doing as the novel opens? Why?

10. In Book 1, Chapter 4, Per Hansa is surveying his property and finds wooden stakes in the ground. Where does Per find the stakes, what do they mean, and how does he react to this discovery?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Isolation and loneliness are important parts of the novel especially in the beginning when the settlers first come to the place where they will live. Discuss the themes of isolation and loneliness in the novel. How are they exhibited in the novel? Are they experienced by any specific characters or are they a universal feeling? How would these themes affect a pioneer family? Provide examples from the book.

Essay Topic 2

Many of the settlers experience a fear of something so the theme of fear is a prevalent theme in the novel. Discuss the theme of fear. How is it present in the novel? What characters exhibit fear? What are the various fears that are expressed by the members of the settlement? How does the fear of the settlers affect them in the novel? Provide examples from the book.

Essay Topic 3

The men and the women in the novel seem to have very separate and distinct roles in the novel. Describe the different roles in the novel. What are the roles of the men? Are these roles of typical pioneer men? What are the roles of the women? Are these roles of typical pioneer women? How are the men and women separated or characterized in the novel? Provide examples from the book.

(see the answer keys)

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