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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 explanation does Ned give Mary at the time of the mysterious visit in October?

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

3. To what do Mary and Ned attribute the great beauty they see in England?

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

5. When Mary and Ned see the man coming toward the hosue in October, what does Mary assume?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

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

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

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

6. What draws the Boynes to England?

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

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

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

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 examines the final sighting of Bob Elwell's ghost. Why does Wharton take up space with the elaborate procedure of questioning various maids? Why not simply have Trimmle be the one to see the mysterious visitor? Why have any of the maids see him at all? What is the significance of the slip of paper, and why do the exact details of the encounter matter so much to Mary as she thinks back over Ned's disappearance many months later? Make a claim about how the choices Wharton makes regarding the ghost's final appearance impact the meaning of the overall story.

Essay Topic 2

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 3

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.

(see the answer keys)

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