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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. When they are all laughing about the idea of a ghost, what does it mean that Mary "noted a certain flatness of tone in Alida's answering hilarity" (83)?
(a) Mary recognizes that Alida is probably jealous of their good fortune and is trying to hide it.
(b) Alida is laughing along, but Mary suspects that for some reason Alida does not find the subject as funny as everyone else does.
(c) Mary has only just realized that Alida is using this discussion as an opportunity to make fun of Mary and Ned.
(d) Mary suspects that Alida feels embarrassed because she is lying about the ghost.

2. After Mary thinks more about the house and its ghost, what does she begin to wonder?
(a) Whether she might actually already know the identity of the ghost.
(b) Whether her household servants have ever seen the ghost.
(c) Whether Ned has seen the ghost and this is the cause of his strange mood.
(d) Whether it is possible that Alida lied to them about the ghost.

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

4. What does Mary learn about the Blue Star Mine deal from her visitor in section "V"?
(a) Ned committed a crime in order to make the deal.
(b) Ned cheated Bob Elwell in order to make more money from it.
(c) It was not nearly as lucrative a deal as Ned pretended.
(d) Ned's actions caused the mine to go bankrupt.

5. For the past week, what has Mary been assuming is the cause for Ned's need to be alone and his odd mood?
(a) She thinks that he misses having a regular job to go to.
(b) She thinks that his book is not going very well.
(c) She thinks that he regrets moving to England.
(d) She thinks that he has seen the ghost.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does Mary find in the envelope addressed to her?

2. Which character opens the story on page 83 by saying "Oh, there is one, of course, but you'll never know it"?

3. When Ned begins to read the newspaper in the library in section "II," he tries to sound casual as he asks Mary a question. What is the question?

4. When Mary and Ned see the man coming toward the hosue in October, what does Mary assume?

5. When Mary, startled by the envelope's contents, cries out and rises to her feet, how does Ned react?

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe the emotional condition that Mary is in in section "IV" of the story.

2. What does Ned tell Mary about the Blue Star lawsuit?

3. What does Alida Stair tell the Boynes about Lyng?

4. What is the name of Ned's book, and what is the thematic significance of this title?

5. In the beginning of section "IV," how much time has elapsed since Ned's disappearance, and what has been happening in that time?

6. Why does Parvis come to see Mary near the end of the story?

7. What news does Mary learn from a newspaper clipping that someone sends her in the mail, and why is she so upset by it?

8. How has Ned's mood changed on the morning after he and Mary first discussed the Blue Star lawsuit, and what does Mary believe changed his mood?

9. What is Mary doing on the morning that Ned disappears?

10. How does the narrator describe the life that the Boynes had in America?

(see the answer keys)

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