Great Short Works of Herman Melville Test | Final Test - Hard

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. How was John Marr wounded?

2. What does the narrator's wife think of his apprehension about the apple-tree table?

3. Who lives in the cottage that the narrator of "The Piazza" finds in the mountains?

4. Where do "'Gees" come from?

5. What disease does Captain Delano learn has swept off much of the crew and cargo of slaves?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does the bug in the apple-tree table teach the narrator's daughter, Julia?

2. What foibles does the narrator claim Jack Gentian possesses?

3. Why is the narrator despondent at the beginning of "The Fiddler"?

4. What does the narrator of "The Piazza" think when he first sees a single bright spot in the northwestern hills?

5. What does the narrator of "The Fiddler" first admire about Hautboy?

6. What does the landscape painter, B. Hobbema Brown, believe about the Marquis de Grandvin?

7. In "The Lightning Rod Man," why does the narrator pretend to mistake the salesman for the god Jupiter Tonans?

8. What is unusual about the bug that emerges from the apple-tree table in the story of that name?

9. How have the Knights Templar changed, according to Melville's observations, in "The Paradise of Bachelors"?

10. Why doesn't the narrator in "The Piazza" grant Marianna's wish and tell her that he is the resident of the house that she believes contains happiness?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Setting is particularly important in Melville's stories. Select a story in which the setting is critical, such as the confinement of shipboard or the home as a center for domestic disputes. Analyze the use and power of the setting in the story you chose.

Essay Topic 2

Melville's elegaic pieces about the Marquis de Grandvin and others make clear the qualities he most admires. In your essay, use examples from these writings to show what qualities Melville thinks make for human greatness.

Essay Topic 3

Melville often uses a distinctive double negative in description. For example, Captain Delano is described as "undistrustful." Later, he is said to be "not unbewildered," and "not uninfluenced." What is to be gained by using these terms instead of "trusting," "bewildered," and "influenced"? Is there a difference between being undistrustful and trusting? If so, what is it? Find other examples of this peculiarity and analyze its use.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 818 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample