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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 part(s) of Tom Benecke's body strikes the windowsill when the window closes?

2. What does Tom Benecke believe will happen if his mental "barrier" (37) fails?

3. What does Tom Benecke shout when he is trying to get the attention of passersby below?

4. Tom Benecke estimates that it will be at least how long before Clare Benecke arrives back to their apartment?

5. Of what type of material are Tom Benecke's shoes crafted?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is the significance of Tom Benecke's act of spitting out the object that is in his mouth?

2. Describe the way in which canine-involved language is used within the story and for what purpose.

3. In what manner does Tom Benecke find the yellow sheet of paper?

4. What element of the movement inside Tom Benecke's apartment shocks him?

5. In what position does Tom Benecke end up when the window closes?

6. What causes Tom Benecke to smile even though he is still in peril?

7. When Tom Benecke detects movement inside his apartment, what is the source?

8. What features of the building does Tom Benecke use as finger-holds during his venture?

9. What object does Tom Benecke spit out within the story?

10. What else happens when Tom Benecke's wrists are "jarred" (41) from the frame of the window?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Finney uses sensory details frequently by the author in order to create vivid pictures of Tom Benecke’s progression through the narrative. Choose three scenes in which sensory details are heavily used and discuss how the sensory details used by Finney serve his creation of a more vivid character.

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the instances of irony within "Contents of the Dead Man's Pocket," and analyze Finney’s purpose for including each instance you discuss.

Essay Topic 3

William Faulkner once famously claimed that the most important literature deals with the subject of the human heart in conflict with itself. Explain how the theme of Human versus Self is demonstrated within Jack Finney's story "Contents of the Dead Man's Pocket." Create a decisive, arguable claim and prove it with quotes from the story.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 890 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample