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. The boys cover the birds with which of the following:

2. What is the name of the husband in "The Factory?"

3. In "Yoghurt," a man and woman fight over _____ in a grocery store.

4. What kind of dog is mentioned in "Here's Another Ending?"

5. How does the father eventually die?

Short Essay Questions

1. Who is "The Philosophical Cobbler?" What is his main concern and goal?

2. Vines: Discuss the man's main issue in "Vines" and what he says to his wife. How does the wife respond?

3. Why was the man so distraught in "The Paring Knife?"

4. Discuss the findings of the parents in "The Sewers of Salt Lake."

5. "Here" describes a neighborhood in which everyone is friendly but does not socialize. Describe the neighborhood.

6. In "Fear: Four Examples," explain the main source of the man's fear regarding his daughter.

7. What does Henry Dobbins use as a way of protecting himself while at war? What happens that might change the talisman?

8. What causes the woman to be upset in "Water?" What does the woman do?

9. Discuss Jane's attitude in "Jane." What does Jane do instead of follow her parents' orders?

10. What is the thing that seems to bother the woman most in "The Haircut?"

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

"Ice Storm" is a telling story about boys that resist the urge to kill blinded pheasants during a particularly nasty winter storm. What happens to the animals during the storm? Why are the pheasants blinded? What about the boys makes them want to capture, harm or kill the birds? What causes the boys to rethink their motives and protect the birds from freezing to death? Examine a person's nature to protect versus kill.

Essay Topic 2

here are two poems that deal with trains: "Love Poems" and "The Burlington Northern, Southbound." Discuss the use of trains as imagery and how the inspire each author. Also discuss trains as a metaphor and how they are or are not appropriate to the stories. Research and find other poems using trains, e.g., Alan Ginsberg's "Sunflower Sutra," to compare and contrast. Which is the best use of a train as an inspiration and/or image?

Essay Topic 3

"Flash Fiction: Very Short Stories by James Thomas" contains many stories by many different authors. The only criterion is that the story must meet a certain word count, typically around 750 but no more than 1,000. Examine any common threads that are found within the collection. Are there any similar trains of thought, style or format? Review each story with those things in mind and make a list of connecting ties.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 993 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample