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

Short Answer Questions

1. What does Vainamoinen try to convince Ilmarinen to help him do?

2. Whom does Louhi capture and lock up in a cave?

3. What does Lemminkainen do to the Lord of Pohja's head?

4. How does Vainamoinen keep Louhi and her soldiers from catching up with him and Lemminkainen and Ilmarinen?

5. What does Lemminkainen's mother warn him about when he is preparing to go away?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What role does marriage and courtship play in the Kalevala? Cite three instances of marriage or courtship and describe the consequences of each. Does marriage settle or unsettle relationships between characters? Is it promising or threatening? What is at stake when someone proposes marriage?

Essay Topic 2

Which parts of these tales are particular to their culture and their times? Which parts of these tales are eternal and apply to every human being? Using examples from the text, describe the culture that created these tales. And describe the timeless human nature that created the other parts of them.

Essay Topic 3

What kind of justice applies in the Kalevala? Is murder always punished? Is theft always punished? Is the justice always the same or does it vary? Citing examples from the text, describe justice in the Kalevala.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 345 words (approx. 2 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample