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

2. When the young man appears behind Mary, who does she at first assume that he is?

3. When Mary finally catches up with Ned on that October day, what is he doing?

4. For how many years did Ned and Mary live in the American Midwest while Ned worked as an engineer?

5. After Mary thinks more about the house and its ghost, what does she begin to wonder?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. 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?

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

4. What draws the Boynes to England?

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

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

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

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

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

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write an essay that explores the narrative voice of "Afterward" and takes a position on how this narrative voice contributes to the story's overall effect. Be sure to give specific textual evidence for your position.

Essay Topic 2

Write an essay that examines the issue of unearned privilege in "Afterward." How far does the story go in its critique of Mary and Ned's lifestyle? Might it have gone further? You may choose to also use evidence about Wharton's own life, depending on the scope of your thesis; if you do so, be sure to cite your sources in MLA format.

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)

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