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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. Ned asks Alida a question about the ghost's "signalement" (84). What is he asking about?

2. When does Mary first realize that Ned is missing?

3. As Mary thinks back over the events of October, she sees a figure coming toward the house again. Who is it?

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

5. In Mary's mind, what is the only possible source of information about what has happened to Ned?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. In the narrative present at the beginning of the story, where is Mary and what is she doing?

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

4. What horrifying chain of events does Mary understand once she sees Bob Elwell's picture?

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. What do the Boynes tell Alida Stair about why Lyng's drawbacks are not problems from their point of view?

7. After she finds out that he has gone out with the mysterious man and not yet returned, why is Mary immediately alarmed?

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. On the day of his disappearance, what is so frustrating for Mary about her conversation with her staff about where Ned is?

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write an essay that affirms, refutes, or denies the proposition "Although Edith Wharton had enlightened ideas for a woman of her time and social class, her short story 'Afterward' demonstrates that her thinking was still limited by her time and social class." Be sure to give clear textual support for your reasoning.

Essay Topic 2

Write an essay that explores "Afterward" as entertainment; make and defend a claim about whether the story succeeds as a disturbing "haunted house" tale. Offer specific textual support for your ideas.

Essay Topic 3

No one in the story is explicit about what happened during the Blue Star Mine scandal, although Parvis does explain in general terms how Ned cheated Bob Elwell. Write an essay that takes and defends a position about why this is. What does the story gain by being vague about the exact sequence of events, and what would it lose by taking up more space explaining what happened? Offer specific textual evidence to support your claims.

(see the answer keys)

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