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This quiz consists of 5 multiple choice and 5 short answer questions through Section 1: "Afterward".

Multiple Choice Questions

1. While she is thinking it over in the library, where does Mary finally decide the blame lies for Ned's distracted, anxious mood?
(a) With Ned's business affairs.
(b) With the house and its ghost.
(c) With Ned.
(d) With herself.

2. Who is the author of "Afterward"?
(a) Shirley Jackson.
(b) Henry James.
(c) Edith Wharton.
(d) O. Henry.

3. In Mary's mind, what is the only possible source of information about what has happened to Ned?
(a) Lyng.
(b) Ned's papers.
(c) Parvis.
(d) Trimmle.

4. When Mary is waiting in the library at the beginning of the story, where is Ned?
(a) In town on an errand.
(b) Taking a walk.
(c) Working in his office.
(d) Finishing his lunch.

5. On page 84, the reader learns about the "prodigious windfall" that Ned and Mary experienced. Where did this "prodigious windfall" come from?
(a) The death of their cousin Hugo.
(b) The Waukesha Sentinel.
(c) Ned's engineering job.
(d) The Blue Star Mine.

Short Answer Questions

1. On page 84, the narrator links isolated environments to "acuities of emotion." What are "acuities of emotion"?

2. Why does Mary ask the mysterious young man whether he has an appointment with Ned?

3. What causes Mary to finally be certain that the ghost was Bob Elwell?

4. When Mary searches Ned's desk, to whom does she find he has been writing?

5. Mary thinks about the "latent" significance of a piece of information on page 83. What kind of meaning does this information have?

(see the answer key)

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