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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. How many months would it take Tom Benecke to reconstruct everything that is on the yellow sheet of paper?
(a) 3.
(b) 1.
(c) 6.
(d) 2.

2. What level of success is Tom Benecke intent on pursuing within the grocery store field?
(a) To own at least twenty stores.
(b) To be a very wealthy man.
(c) To be a powerful man.
(d) To the very top.

3. What is the one direct benefit Tom Benecke believes he will receive as a result of the company liking his innovative idea?
(a) He believes that he will receive a promotion.
(b) He believes that he will receive a raise.
(c) He believes that he will become a partner in the company.
(d) He believes that he will receive no direct benefit.

4. What are the final words Tom Benecke says to Clare Benecke before she leaves the apartment?
(a) Please be careful.
(b) Be back before midnight.
(c) I love you.
(d) Have a good time.

5. The narrator states that Tom Benecke stares at the yellow piece of paper for how long, willing it to fall down to the street?
(a) 30 seconds.
(b) 3 minutes.
(c) 15 seconds.
(d) 1 minute.

Short Answer Questions

1. On what street is the place located at which Tom Benecke had spent "a dozen lunch hours and early evenings" (16)?

2. For what length of time does Tom Benecke actually believe that he is "going to abandon the yellow sheet" (17)?

3. What thought does the narrator describe as being difficult for Tom Benecke to "escape" (18)?

4. Immediately after Tom Benecke thinks about how many months it would take to reconstruct the yellow sheet of paper, he takes what action in relation to the window ledge?

5. On what street do the Beneckes live?

Short Essay Questions

1. Discuss details of the story suggesting that Tom Benecke knows the choice he is making to stay home is the wrong one?

2. What is the setting of the story "Contents of the Dead Man's Pocket," and how is the setting used to amplify suspense?

3. In what way does the physical description of the exterior of Tom Benecke's apartment dovetail with the theme of isolation?

4. Describe the character of Tom Benecke.

5. Describe the miscalculations Tom Benecke makes when he is preparing to go outside.

6. To what aspect of his life does Tom Benecke link his "guilty conscience" (1) at the start of the story?

7. What article of clothing does Tom Benecke don before climbing out of his living room window?

8. In what way does the theme of deception enter the narrative in the first ten paragraphs of the story?

9. Discuss the use of the sound motif within the first section of the story.

10. What, if any, direct benefit does Tom Benecke believe he will receive in exchange for his idea for a new method of display?

(see the answer keys)

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