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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 does the narrator do the next day?

2. Whom does the detective suspect of committing the murder, and why?

3. Why does the narrator not understand the jokes the other boys tell?

4. What happens when the three older boys go inside?

5. What is this person traveling to present a paper on?

Short Essay Questions

1. In the poem 'The Hidden Chamber,' is there anything that is actually hidden?

2. Is there a 'bad guy' in the story 'A Study in Emerald'?

3. Why does Runt decide to go into the farmhouse at the end of October's story?

4. What do the characters in 'Strange Little Girls' have in common?

5. How do the characteristics and personalities of the months in the story 'October in the Chair' reflect the different months of the year?

6. In your opinion, what was Miss Finch's wish? Was it granted by the cabinet?

7. Why does the writer in 'Forbidden Brides...' enjoy writing about Amelia making toast?

8. What do you think the three older boys in the ghost story are?

9. In the last story in 'Strange Little Girls,' two alternate stories are offered about a woman who lived during the war. Which one offers the happier ending?

10. Who tells the story about the playhouse in 'Closing Time,' and what evidence is there that this person is the storyteller?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What is the purpose and worth of fiction? Why are stories important? Discuss how the author deals with these questions in his stories and poems.

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the theme of reality and fiction in these stories and poems. What are the differences between real life and stories? Why does the author keep returning to this theme?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the author's use of metaphor and symbolism in two stories or poems of your choice from the collection.

(see the answer keys)

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