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. Why did the narrator's mother leave the farm?

2. How did the family eventually lose their shop?

3. Miss Dobie recites a poem about a girl named ________________.

4. How many times has Almeda been married?

5. What is the name of Brenda's lover's hometown?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Murray suspect that Victor and Barbara are doing and under what circumstances does Victor leave for good?

2. Who are Murray and Barbara, how did they meet and what type of business do they operate now?

3. Why is the affair with Neil so important to Brenda?

4. What is the premise of "Five Points"?

5. Who was Victor and how did he come into Murray and Barbara's life?

6. What was the relationship between the narrator's mother, and Flora after the narrator's mother moved away to marry and start a family?

7. What is the content of a poem told by Miss Dobie that seems to be directed at Judy?

8. What awakens Almeda in the night and what does she do about the disruption?

9. How did the generation gap separate the narrator and her mother and what conclusion does she come to regarding how well she knew her own mother?

10. What is life like for women in Almeda's town?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Who are two of Munro's characters in this book who appeal to you the most? What is it about these characters that you like? What are their weaknesses? How about redeeming qualities? Are Munro's characters believable in your opinion. Explain and use examples from the text.

Essay Topic 2

Create a character study of Hetty Pennefather in "An Old Woman and Her Cat". What are her physical characteristics? What are her motivations? What are her fears? What are her dreams? What else can you say about Hetty?

Essay Topic 3

Loss seems to be almost an unnamed character in the book. How pervasive is the sense of loss? Why does it have such a prevalent place in the characters' lives? Explain how an inanimate object or characteristic can be a character.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,439 words (approx. 5 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample