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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. How does Ralph know he is being poisoned?
(a) He is dizzy all the time.
(b) He tastes it in his food.
(c) He finds the little blue bottle of arsenic.
(d) He tastes it in the water.

2. How does Catherine plan to kill Ralph?
(a) By smothering him with a pillow.
(b) By shooting him.
(c) By paying a hitman to kill him.
(d) By putting arsenic in his food.

3. Why is Ralph embarrassed to have Mrs. Larsen change his bedding?
(a) It is old and faded.
(b) It is hardly used.
(c) It is very rumpled.
(d) It is always soiled.

4. How does Antonio break up with Violet?
(a) He sends a letter.
(b) He takes her to dinner.
(c) He sends a note with a bouquet.
(d) He just moves away.

5. What does Ralph have built in the Italian house as a wedding gift to Catherine?
(a) A library.
(b) Modern bathrooms.
(c) A safe.
(d) A fountain.

Short Answer Questions

1. Antonio says that the only way Ralph will mean anything to him is _____________________.

2. What was the only thing Emilia took with her when she left Ralph?

3. How does Ralph know that the arsenic poisoning in his body is getting worse?

4. Who is the young widow with whom Antonio gets involved?

5. How old was Alice when she was kept by a forty-year-old man?

Short Essay Questions

1. What image does Catherine see float down toward Alice and what does Catherine realize about her own life from this point on?

2. How long does Catherine wait before going to see Antonio and why does she write to Truitt about her upcoming visit?

3. Why does Truitt allow Catherine to poison him?

4. What is the significance of Catherine's clothing in the story?

5. Why did Catherine prostitute herself and how does Alice end up doing the same thing?

6. What did Truitt discover when he went to Chicago one last time to try to help Emilia and why does he think he finally abandoned her?

7. What had been Truitt's experience with arsenic when he was a younger man?

8. Who is Violet Alverson and how does Antonio cavalierly destroy her?

9. What does Truitt do regarding his business as his health rapidly deteriorates?

10. What does Antonio reveal to Catherine about his mother's death and what does he say he feels towards his father?

(see the answer keys)

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