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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. At what piece of furniture does Tom Benecke sit at the beginning of the story?
(a) A desk.
(b) A dining room table.
(c) A breakfast nook.
(d) A secretary.

2. What is NOT an object Tom Benecke considers using in order to retrieve his escaped piece of paper?
(a) A shower rod.
(b) A broom.
(c) A fireplace poker.
(d) A mop.

3. What are the final words Tom Benecke says to Clare Benecke before she leaves the apartment?
(a) Be back before midnight.
(b) Have a good time.
(c) I love you.
(d) Please be careful.

4. What color is Clare Benecke's hair?
(a) Blonde and almost white.
(b) Dark brown and almost black.
(c) Light brown and almost blonde.
(d) Red.

5. Just before Tom Benecke says, "Got to get this done though" (5), what gesture does he make?
(a) He hugs Clare Benecke.
(b) He looks out the window.
(c) He loads his typewriter.
(d) He runs his fingers through his hair.

Short Answer Questions

1. What thought does the narrator describe as being difficult for Tom Benecke to "escape" (18)?

2. The piece of paper "beside the typewriter" (1) is covered with what?

3. How many Saturday afternoons had Tom Benecke spent collecting the data on the escaped piece of paper?

4. What action does Tom Benecke take after walking Clare Benecke to the "front-door closet" (10)?

5. Tom Benecke mentions to Clare what benefit in relation to his workaholic nature?

Short Essay Questions

1. To what aspect of his life does Tom Benecke link his "guilty conscience" (1) at the start of the story?

2. Discuss how Finney employs sensory details as a means to create suspense.

3. How is irony present within Tom Benecke's feeling about the idea of abandoning the yellow sheet of paper?

4. What types of information are written upon the yellow sheet of paper?

5. Tom Benecke realizes at the beginning of the story that the feeling he is experiencing is not heat. What is it instead?

6. What is the setting of the story "Contents of the Dead Man's Pocket," and how is the setting used to amplify suspense?

7. In what way does the outside contrast with the inside throughout the story and for what purpose?

8. For what reason does Tom Benecke feel that he needs to finish his work project quickly?

9. Discuss the way in which Finney uses the hypothetical with a particular purpose in mind in Paragraph 20.

10. What article of clothing does Tom Benecke don before climbing out of his living room window?

(see the answer keys)

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