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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 is a bergschrund?

2. How does Simon view the climb after determining that Joe has died?

3. Simon feels as if the whole struggle up until he cuts the rope is the deliberate scheme of whom?

4. Why does Joe turn off his head torch?

5. After Bomb Alley, what is Joe's next objective?

Short Essay Questions

1. While crawling away during his escape from the crevasse, what is Joe's most common excuse for stopping, and what persuades him to continue?

2. Why does Joe decide to descend deeper into the crevasse?

3. When Simon sees the cliff over which Joe had been hanging, how does he feel?

4. In the moraines, what device plays a crucial role in Joe's survival?

5. Why is Joe so worried about losing Simon's tracks?

6. Through the moraines, Joe's watch is a strong preoccupation. Besides pain, what is his obsession?

7. While preparing for his escape attempt up the snow cone towards the light, how does Joe's view towards the crevasse briefly change?

8. When Joe finally clears the crevasses of the glacier and arrives at the moraines, what painful condition does he realize that he is stricken with, and how does he describe it?

9. Before setting out across the moraines, what does Joe do with his Karrimat?

10. After he sees the frayed ends of the cut rope, what goes through Joe's mind?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What would you do in a similar or identical predicament as Joe's? Simon's? Why?

Essay Topic 2

Compare and/or contrast Joe's use of patterns and rhythm throughout the book. Does he use them as a function of his personality, as a result of the essence of climbing, or out of necessity? Discuss the appearance of these patterns in climbing, in the rescue attempt, and in Joe's journey back to base camp.

Essay Topic 3

Joe experiences voices, music in his head, hallucinations, delusions, and blackouts. Research the effects of pain, starvation, and dehydration on the brain and relate them to Joe's ordeal and what he experiences. Are his symptoms surprising? Why or why not?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 997 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample