View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What aspect of his success does Bob take particular pride in?

2. What finally reveals the plainclothes officer's face?

3. What does the narrator mean by the description of the police officer's impressiveness as "habitual and not for show"?

4. Why have the two men set this particular meeting time?

5. What does Jimmy notice about Bob's pocket watch?

Short Essay Questions

1. In the story's beginning, what evidence is there that Jimmy takes pride in his job?

2. What were the circumstances of the agreement Jimmy and Bob made 20 years ago?

3. What is amusing about the plainclothes officer's answer to Bob's question about whether he is doing well in New York?

4. What does the note from Jimmy explain to Bob?

5. What is appropriate about the plainclothes officer greeting Bob with the line "It's Bob, sure as fate" (621)?

6. What is the effect of the passage depicting Bob continuing to wait in the doorway as it begins to rain?

7. How is Bob characterized by the accessories that he carries?

8. Why does Jimmy, in his role as the police officer, ask Bob if he is going to keep waiting for his friend to show up?

9. What is ironic about the way that Bob describes his old friend to the "policeman" he encounters?

10. When the plainclothes officer tells Bob "We'll go around to a place I know of, and have a good long talk about old times," (621), what does he mean, and what does Bob likely think he means?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write an essay in which you make and defend a claim about the thematic motifs of materialism and greed in "After Twenty Years." Support your ideas with evidence from the text.

Essay Topic 2

Write an essay that uses psychological research to defend a thesis about environment and morality. Be sure to cite your sources in MLA format.

Essay Topic 3

Write an essay that makes and defends a claim about the beliefs about friendship and loyalty conveyed by "After Twenty Years." Use textual evidence to support your ideas.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,127 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample