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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 is the one direct benefit Tom Benecke believes he will receive as a result of the company liking his innovative idea?

2. How many months would it take Tom Benecke to reconstruct everything that is on the yellow sheet of paper?

3. What action does Tom Benecke take just after dusting off his hands?

4. Once Tom Benecke finally makes physical contact with the yellow sheet, in what way is the action described?

5. What level of success is Tom Benecke intent on pursuing within the grocery store field?

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe the character of Tom Benecke.

2. Discuss the use of the sound motif within the first section of the story.

3. What, if any, direct benefit does Tom Benecke believe he will receive in exchange for his idea for a new method of display?

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

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

6. Discuss details of the story suggesting that Tom Benecke knows the choice he is making to stay home is the wrong one?

7. What is the significance of Jack Finney's choice of business field for Tom Benecke?

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

9. What evidence points toward the fact that Clare Benecke often goes out by herself because Tom Benecke has to work?

10. How does Tom Benecke feel about the idea of abandoning the yellow sheet of paper at the beginning of the story?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write a critical essay about "Contents of the Dead Man's Pocket" while using the critical power theory lens of feminist theory. Use textual evidence to back up your strong, specific claim regarding the story's treatment of gender roles, the objectification of women, female empowerment, or any other issues related to feminist theory that can be found in the story.

Essay Topic 2

What is the function of Clare’s character within "Contents of a Dead Man's Pocket"? Discuss the characterization methods used by Finney in depicting Clare and include in your discussion of the reasons that Finney portrays Clare in these particular ways.

Essay Topic 3

Analyze Jack Finney's story "Contents of the Dead Man's Pocket" from an Existential perspective. What elements of life does it suggest hold the most meaning and why?

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