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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. Who is Henry Brower?

2. What happens to Gramma while George is fixing them dinner?

3. What kind of problem did Henry admit he had that contributed to his scheme against Thorpe?

4. What is Henry's original feeling toward Thorpe's Fornits story?

5. What does Shapiro do while Rand stands mesmerized by the shifting sand?

Short Essay Questions

1. Rocky is dismayed and angered that the milkman, Spike, impregnated his wife. Spike seems not the least bit intimidated, possibly even enjoying Rocky's discomfort. Do you think Spike did what he did in order to specifically anger Rocky, or do you think Spike doesn't care what anyone thinks?

2. Rocky seems to be a bit of an intimidator himself. Though it is long past closing time, he coerces his friend into giving his car an inspection sticker. What do you think this says about Rocky?

3. There is a rumor in the family that Gramma did something to Franklin to make him die. Do you think the family is just overreacting to their guilt and loss by blaming it on Gramma?

4. Children are often frightened by elderly relatives. Everything about them seems foreign and frightening. Do you think George's fear of Gramma was instinctual or merely the usual fear a child has of older people?

5. Henry finally shares his story with a few close friends years later about Reg and the Fornits. Why do you think it took him so long to share this information?

6. What do you think would be the worst part of being afflicted as Brower is in "The Man Who Would Not Shake Hands"? Use examples from the text to support your theory.

7. What do you think the story "For Owen" is about?

8. Identify a simile from "The Reaper's Image" and explain how the simile adds to the description.

9. Gramma is fat, flabby, blind, and smells funny. She also often wears a sly, frightening appearance. Do you think she plays up her frightening aspects to keep the family in line?

10. Rumor had it that Gramma was a witch and apparently became one because she could not carry a baby to term. Do you think Gramma was justified to dabble in witchcraft to attain her dream?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The "willing suspension of disbelief" is a formula for justifying the use of fantastic or non-realistic elements in literature where the writer infuses a human interest and a semblance of truth into a fantastic tale, encouraging the reader to suspend judgment concerning the implausibility of the narrative. The horror genre must often employ this method to keep a reader's interest. Choose an example of willing suspension of disbelief from one of the stories in "Skeleton Crew" and outline how it employs this formula and why it works for this particular tale.

Essay Topic 2

In "The Ballad of the Flexible Bullet," Henry is troubled by his strange friendship with an author named Thorpe. Almost as a joke, Henry encouraged Thorpe's paranoia about Fornits, tiny elf-like creatures. How did Henry's encouragement of Thorpe's fantasy lead to that fantasy invading Henry's life as well?

Essay Topic 3

Setting is often a major contributing factor to the mood of a story or novel. However, many of King's stories in this book do not stress setting as much as character. Are there any stories in which the setting is an important factor to the mood? If so, which ones and why? How does King use his characters rather than the setting to set the mood in his stories?

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