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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. For how many years did Ned and Mary live in the American Midwest while Ned worked as an engineer?
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. When section "III" opens, Mary is spending the morning working outdoors. She goes into the area where the "espaliered" pear trees are (89). What kind of pear trees are these?
4. In section "III," when Mary looks at the house from across the property, what does she feel about the house?
5. When Mary tells Ned what she has learned from her mail, how does Ned react?
Short Essay Questions
1. What does Alida Stair tell the Boynes about Lyng?
2. What is Mary doing on the morning that Ned disappears?
3. How does the narrator describe the life that the Boynes had in America?
4. Why does Parvis come to see Mary near the end of the story?
5. What strange conclusion does Mary come to about the relationship of the ghost to the house, Lyng?
6. What do Mary and Ned plan to do with their time at Lyng?
7. What happens with the mysterious visitor on the day that Ned disappears?
8. Describe the emotional condition that Mary is in in section "IV" of the story.
9. What is the name of Ned's book, and what is the thematic significance of this title?
10. On the day of his disappearance, what is so frustrating for Mary about her conversation with her staff about where Ned is?
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
Mary looks across the property at her home and sees it "drenched in the pale gold moisture of the air" (89). This kind of diction clearly sends a message about Lyng, and Wharton's work is full of examples of this sort of thoughtful language. Choose a single aspect of the story--a person, a setting, an event, etc.--and analyze how Wharton's word choices contribute to the reader's understanding. Offer quoted textual examples to support your claims.
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.
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This section contains 1,104 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) |
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