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 Joe see that makes him certain that he is going to get out of the crevasse?

2. After his first night in a snow cave since exiting the crevasse, Joe awakens, screaming from a nightmare about the crevasse, in which he was reciting what?

3. When Joe finally reaches Bomb Alley, he immediately finds a trickle of water. How long has he gone without food or water?

4. After 12 hours in the crevasse, Joe finally escapes. Although briefly mentioned in the chapter "In the Far Distance", a new character is now officially introduced. Who is it?

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

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. After discovering that Simon had cut the rope, Joe turns off his head torch and cries himself to sleep. When he awakens, what are his immediate thoughts?

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

4. How does Joe describe his night in the moraines under the stars?

5. After learning that the rope had been cut and after getting some sleep in the crevasse, what are Joe's thoughts about the end of his life?

6. While trying to reach base camp, what single thought springs Joe into action, but also holds the possibility of being the final death of him?

7. The morning after arriving back at base camp, Simon revisits his feelings about the place while urinating on a boulder. How does he describe these emotions?

8. What logic does Joe use to assume that Simon believes he is dead?

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

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

In the Postscript, Joe says "The scars of six operations stood out lividly on the distorted joint. At least the wounds in my mind had healed better than these." After reading the Epilogue, how do you assess Joe's "healing"? Do you agree? What do you think about Joe's decision to go back and climb mountains again? Do you think this is imprudent, or admirable?

Essay Topic 2

Climbers acclimatize before a climb, meaning that they adjust to the conditions, especially the lower oxygen levels at high altitudes. To what other conditions, either physical or mental or both, does Joe "acclimatize" throughout the story?

Essay Topic 3

Throughout his ordeal, Simon mentions the presence of songs and song lyrics in his head, even ones that he hates. Research and write about why this happens in the human psyche. Do you think that this means music plays an important role in Joe's life? How, exactly, is the music helping Joe? Is the music as prevalent as the voices and thoughts? Briefly mention your own experience with this phenomenon when under stress, if any.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,136 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample