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

2. On that evening in the library in section "II," what does Mary see has happened when she looks up from preparing the tea?

3. What does Ned's motive seem to be when he first brings up the subject of whether the house has a ghost?

4. On page 84, the reader learns about the "prodigious windfall" that Ned and Mary experienced. Where did this "prodigious windfall" come from?

5. For the past week, what has Mary been assuming is the cause for Ned's need to be alone and his odd mood?

Short Essay Questions

1. What do Mary and Ned plan to do with their time at Lyng?

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

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

4. What strange conclusion does Mary come to about the relationship of the ghost to the house, Lyng?

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

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

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

8. What happens with the mysterious visitor on the day that Ned disappears?

9. 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?

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write an essay that makes and defends a claim about "Afterward" as an example of American Realism. Offer textual evidence for your arguments and be sure to cite outside sources in MLA format.

Essay Topic 2

Write an essay that proposes and supports a claim regarding the causes of Mary and Ned's downfall. What are the implications of everything that has happened for Mary's life after the story ends? Who or what is most at fault? Give textual support for your claims.

Essay Topic 3

In "Afterward," two Americans use wealth that they have earned through exploitation to try to escape the realities of America into a fantasy of the European past. Write an essay that offers your opinion about whether Wharton did or did not intend this as a critique of America's dominant class and American history in general. If you use outside sources, be sure to cite them in MLA format.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,049 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample