View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. How does the young boy die in the story "Murderers"?

2. What did the narrator's mother most love about the narrator's father in the story "The Lover of Horses"?

3. How does Jack feel after he accidentally kills his brother?

4. In "Murderers," whose house do the young boys snoop in"?

5. Which of the following is NOT a way that Dale Carter attempts to deal with his grief after his son dies?

Short Essay Questions

1. What instrument does Jack Hawthorne learn to play in the story "Redemption," and why?

2. How does Leo Finkel meet his wife in "The Magic Barrel"?

3. Why doesn't the grandmother want to go on vacation with her family in the story "A Good Man is Hard to Find"?

4. What stories do the old men from the cove tell the narrator in the story "Water Liars"?

5. How does the narrator react when her father falls ill in "The Lover of Horses"?

6. Why don't roommates Henry and Osmond get along in the story "The Christian Roommates"?

7. Why does the rabbi call the young boys "Murderers!" in the story of the same name?

8. Who is Arnold Friend in the story "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?"

9. What type of relationship does the narrator have with her dead son in the story "Dream Children"?

10. How does the monkey die in the story "Letters from the Samantha"?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The story "The Lover of Horses" is a story about obsessions. First, create a list of the obsessions present in the family of the narrator. Which of these obsessions do you think is most harmful to the family's function? Why? Choose one of the obsessions from your list and explain how it leads to heartache for some characters, and a sense of grandeur for others. Finally, explain how the narrator is able to succumb to her own obsessions only as a method of letting her father go. Be sure to include examples from the text that you believe strengthen your arguments.

Essay Topic 2

In the story "A Good Man is Hard to Find," the grandmother has an obsession with one article of clothing. First, describe that article of clothing and explain why it is so important to the grandmother. What does the grandmother think this item of clothing represents? Then, explain what happens to this article of clothing as the story progresses. How does the change in the clothing item represent the emotional and moral changes occurring in the grandmother's character? Be sure to include examples from the text that you believe strengthen your arguments.

Essay Topic 3

Many critics have claimed that the story "Willi" is a cautionary tale against the danger of infidelity. Describe the situation through which infidelity is introduced into this story. Create a list of emotions generated by the characters in this story after the infidelity is revealed. Explain whether you agree with the critics who claim this story to be a cautionary tale and explain why. Be sure to include examples from the text that you believe strengthen your argument.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,232 words (approx. 5 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample