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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. In the summer of 1936, what caused Toni Kurz and his group of climbers to turn back?

2. On what day of the climb did Toni Kurz and his party turn back?

3. What trapped Primas and Gollackner on the mountain?

4. When do Rebitsch and Vörg finally attempt their climb?

5. Why did Giuseppe Piravano and Bruno Detassis climb partially up the northeast face?

Short Essay Questions

1. What happened to Bartolo Sandri and Mario Menti, who attempted to climb the North Face early in the summer of 1938?

2. How does Harrer portray the climbers' relations with the newspapermen?

3. Describe Maix and Harrer's collaboration.

4. Who were the climbers forced out of Switzerland in 1937?

5. What metaphor did the author use to describe the societal function of mountain climbing?

6. What blocked the descent from Buhl and Jöchler's bivouac spot below the Rote Fluh?

7. What did the climbers do on their last night on the mountain before reaching the summit?

8. Describe the White Spider.

9. What did Kurz have to do to try to reach the rescuers?

10. How did the author characterize past writing about the Eiger?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss the point of view of Harrer's THE WHITE SPIDER.

1) How does Harrer portray climbers and events that he knows of through research, compared to those that he knows personally?

2) How does the shift in point of view to Harrer's personal account of his experiences affect the book?

3) When does Harrer use personal narration, aside from the account of his own climb of the North Face? How do these personal interjections affect the book?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the idea of rescue in Harrer's book.

1) Why are rescue attempts not guaranteed for climbers? How does climbing affect the local guides and governments who participate in rescue attempts?

2) How does Harrer view rescuers and rescue attempts? Are his portrayals of rescuers romanticized?

3) Should climbers expect rescue? What aspects of human nature make rescue attempts inevitable? What happens when rescue attempts are impossible? Discuss specific rescue attempts in the book.

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the character of the mountain in the book.

1) How does the nature of the mountain change over the course of time in the book? In what ways is this change natural, and in what ways is mankind responsible for change in the mountain?

2) How does the mountain function as a character in the book? Is it ever personified? How so? What qualities does the mountain have?

3) How does the mountain affect the climbers, guides, and locals in the book?

(see the answer keys)

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