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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 owns the disreputable boarding house in Eatonville?

2. What term is used to describe the color of the rattlesnake's fangs?

3. When the snake starts to rattle incessantly inside its soap box, movements in what two locations cause him to rattle?

4. What item does Sykes NOT buy from Joe Clarke's store during his visit there?

5. In what town does Delia attend church at the time Sykes is keeping the rattlesnake?

Short Essay Questions

1. What argumentative method does Delia use in order to convince Sykes that he needs to take the snake away from her home?

2. In what way does Sykes accuse Delia of being insincere about her fear of snakes when he brings home the rattlesnake?

3. How does Delia react once Sykes both refuses to remove the rattlesnake and threatens to beat her?

4. How does the author demonstrate the village's viewpoint regarding Sykes's keeping of the rattlesnake?

5. When Old Man Anderson suggests that the men kill Sykes, what is the men's reaction?

6. How does Sykes go about showing the rattlesnake to Delia after he has brought it home?

7. What is Sykes's reply to Delia's insistence that he remove the rattlesnake from their home?

8. How does Sykes use the occasion of bringing home the rattlesnake in order to once again attack Delia's physical appearance?

9. What is the significance of the snake baring its "scimitar" (6)-like fangs at Delia?

10. What two differing reasons does Sykes give for why he was able to catch the six-foot rattlesnake in the first place?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

How is the cycle of domestic violence portrayed within the short story Sweat?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the rising action and climax stages of the story and discuss how the story's themes are brought forth within these two plot arc stages.

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the author's message regarding hard work within the short story Sweat.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 984 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample