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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. The mill-owner’s son tells his companions in “Life in the Iron Mills,” “If I had the making of men, these men who do the lowest part of the world’s work should be” what?

2. How many hands are employed at the iron mill where Hugh works in “Life in the Iron Mills”?

3. How is Deborah related to Hugh Wolfe in “Life in the Iron Mills”?

4. What does Mitchell refer to as “the cure for all the world’s diseases” in “Life in the Iron Mills”?

5. The author of “A Biographical Interpretation” states that Rebecca Harding Davis grew up along what river?

Short Essay Questions

1. What exchange takes place between Deborah and the Quaker woman at the jail in “Life in the Iron Mills”?

2. What does Hugh look down on from his prison window at in “Life in the Iron Mills”? What does this scene make him realize?

3. How is Hugh caught by the authorities in “Life in the Iron Mills”? What is Hugh charged with and sentenced?

4. How would you describe the ending of “Life in the Iron Mills”? Does the story end on a happy or sad note?

5. How does the author of “A Biographical Interpretation” describe Rebecca Harding Davis’s early years of marriage?

6. What decision does Hugh reach when he goes to attempt to return the money in “Life in the Iron Mills”? Why?

7. Who did Rebecca Harding Davis meet on her first trip North, according to the author of “A Biographical Interpretation”?

8. What is the outcome for Hugh in the denouement of “Life in the Iron Mills”?

9. How is Hugh’s demeanor in the jail described in “Life in the Iron Mills”? What are Deborah’s impressions when she sees Hugh?

10. What do the visitors at the mill tell Hugh Wolfe regarding his future as an artist in “Life in the Iron Mills”?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Describe and discuss the characters of Anne and Mrs. Palmer in “Anne.” How old are each of these characters? What do they look like? What are their actions in the story?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the trial and sentencing of Hugh Wolfe in the narrative. Why did Hugh refuse a lawyer? Who was appointed to represent him? Do you think this lawyer did an adequate job? Why or why not?

Essay Topic 3

Describe and discuss author Tillie Olsen and the republication of Life in the Iron Mills and Other Stories. What are the objectives of the Feminist Press? Why did they feel Rebecca Harding Davis’s stories should be republished? What drew Olsen to the works?

(see the answer keys)

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