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. What does she realize is the best way to quiet her mind?

2. According to Dillard, how is the past healed?

3. Why does Dillard believe humans are vulnerable?

4. Dillard believes that "weather overlaps" which causes what?

5. How does Dillard believe the seeking of God takes place?

Short Essay Questions

1. What story does Dillard tell about a Native American woman and winter?

2. In most of this book, what does Dillard primarily see about nature and how does it affect her?

3. Briefly tell the story written in Chapter 15 about a young man and his mother.

4. How is the story about the caddisfly applicable to Dillard's obsession with the present?

5. Describe Dillard's thoughts as she looks over the creek from the bridge when it was flooded.

6. In Chapter 3, what has the reader learned about Dillard's attitude towards living creatures?

7. What physics concept does Dillard use to write about observing muskrats? How does she use it?

8. Dillard still rails against the seeming cruelty of nature; however, what else is she seeing by Chapter 13?

9. What happens when Dillard tries to stay in the present?

10. What does Dillard believe about flowing water?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

How does Dillard feel about harming creatures? What are some of the incidents from her childhood that helped formed these ideas? Do you agree with her? Why or why not?

Essay Topic 2

Describe Dillard's encounter with the circular snake skin. How did she use it in thinking about time? Do you agree with her beliefs about time? Why or why not?

Essay Topic 3

In the first part of chapter eight, the author goes into great detail about many phenomena of the natural world. Write about some of the details she has written. How has her writing changed in this chapter to reflect the theme of the intricacy of nature?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,199 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample