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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. What aspect of the house does Alida mention that finally convinces Ned and Mary that it is as old as they are hoping?

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

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

4. Where is Mary and Ned's house located?

5. What causes Mary to finally be certain that the ghost was Bob Elwell?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

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

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

5. What draws the Boynes to England?

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

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

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

9. What does Mary remember happening earlier in the day in October when she and Ned first climbed Meldon Steep?

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write an essay that takes and defends a position about the emphasis Wharton gives to the physical evidence of Ned's emotional state. What is happening when he seems anxious, and what is happening when he seems relieved? From whose perspective is all of this shown, and why? How do these choices contribute to the story's overall meaning and effect? Be sure to support your claims with specific textual evidence.

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

Write an essay that makes and defends a claim about the purpose of the story's structure. Why does it begin with the moment that it begins with? How are flashbacks used, and why? What periods of time are narrated in detail, and which are compressed, and why? Offer textual evidence for your claims.

(see the answer keys)

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