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. Why does Mr. Richards not want to make the matter private?

2. What kind of expression do the town folks' faces have at the end of the week?

3. Who does Halliday realize has broken a leg?

4. Why did Mr. Richards decide against saving the Reverend Burgess?

5. What does the narrator say Mr. Richards plunges his hands through his hair like?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does Mr. Richards not want to accept checks?

2. Why are similar scenes as the scenes at the Richardses being performed in 18 other houses?

3. What is Hadleyburg's reputation?

4. How does Wilson get everyone on his side?

5. Why is Mrs. Richards angry at her husband?

6. What does the stranger's second note say?

7. Why does Richards not tell his wife about the good deed he did for Goodson?

8. What does Wilson accuse Billson of?

9. What does the stranger do the next morning?

10. Why can the boy not stop the mail?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Examine the author's writing style. How would you describe the author's prose style? What kind of vocabulary does he use? What meaning does the author's style give to the story?

Essay Topic 2

Examine the novel's chronological setting.

What were the main concerns during the 1900s? How does the author express these concerns?

How would the author change the novel if it was set in today's society?

Essay Topic 3

Look at the structure of the novel.

How does the author use character and dialogue to drive the narrative?

Discuss elements of the narrative structure; Exposition, conflict, complication, climax, resolution and conclusion. Do all the elements make for a logical and linear story? How does the story's structure express the novel's themes?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 747 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample