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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. What does Merricat notice as she watches Constance and Charles talk?

2. How old is Constance in Chapter 5?

3. How do Merricat and Constance feel about having an uninvited guest in Chapter 2?

4. What does Merricat tell Constance about Charles?

5. Who owns the nicest home in the village?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Merricat blame for the arrival of Charles Blackwood?

2. How did many members of the Blackwoods family die?

3. What does Merricat come up with to keep the change away?

4. What does Mary Katherine imagine while she is shopping in order to distract herself from the villagers?

5. Who does Helen Clarke bring with her to the Blackwoods'? How do Merricat and Constance feel about having an extra guest?

6. What does Julian describe in detail in Chapter 3?

7. How does Merricat describe her sense that something is going to change is Chapter 4?

8. What does Mary Katherine wonder about the library books in Chapter 1?

9. Describe the Blackwoods' collection of preserves.

10. Which of Merricat's safeguards does she find has fallen in Chapter 4?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Analyze and interpret the character Constance. What are her defining character traits? What is her role in the story? How is she related to the protagonist? Is she an important character?

Essay Topic 2

Analyze and interpret the character Merricat. What are her defining character traits? Is she a reliable narrator?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the author of the novel, Shirley Jackson. What other works has she received recognition for? Is her work usually similarly-themed? Does she always write in the same genre?

(see the answer keys)

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