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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. How do the two women decide to die?

2. How do the women soften the wood?

3. Why don't the women camp in the more protected area of the forest?

4. What sound do the women hear in the dead of their first night that wakes them from their sleep?

5. What does Shruh Zhuu do with his time?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why do the two old women take care not to work too hard in the cold?

2. Why do the two old women decide that they cannot remain in the camp where they have been abandoned?

3. How is the two old women's shelter made?

4. What good deed have The People done for the two women as they leave them behind?

5. What are the first tasks the women must do to prepare their shelter at the fish camp?

6. What unusual character flaw do the two old women possess?

7. What gets the two old women up in the middle of the night on the first night after their abandonment?

8. What slows the two old women's progress when they wake up on the second day of travel?

9. How do the two old women react to the chief's announcement that they will be left behind?

10. Where do the two old women decide to go when they feel they cannot remain in the camp where they have been abandoned?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Who do you think suffered more during the long, hard winter? Was it the two women, or the chief, the daughter, and the other members of the band? Why? In your essay, compare and contrast the situations of the two groups. What advantage did the women have? What advantage did the chief and the rest of The People have?

Essay Topic 2

Is it important to the story that the two old women and the rest of the band met up again and learned what had happened during their separation? Why or why not? In your essay, explain the importance of the reconciliation to the learning that the story offers to its characters and to its readers.

Essay Topic 3

The word "beautiful" is used by many reviewers of this story. In your essay, use quotations to explain why it has been called beautiful; include your own opinion as to whether it is a beautiful story or not. Are the reviewers talking about the setting? The language? The message? Support your idea with details from the text.

(see the answer keys)

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