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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. In 'Pages from a Journal...' for whom is the narrator searching?

2. What are the man and woman called?

3. In 'The Star,' where does the vampire say that vampires came from originally?

4. When Scarlet calls the narrator, what does she tell him/her?

5. What children does the narrator have?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why are the machines interested in the narrator?

2. Do the machines feel emotion?

3. Based on this story, how do you think the author feels about the problem of Susan?

4. Is 'In the End' a hopeful story or a sad one?

5. Based on the ideas explored in 'Fifteen Painted Cards from a Vampire Tarot' why do you think vampire stories are so popular?

6. Is the professor the same person as Susan from the Narnia books?

7. What kind of beings are Wain's Wain and the second girl whom Enn talks to?

8. Why does the father in 'Locks' feel that we owe it to ourselves to tell each other stories?

9. Are the boys at the party in any danger?

10. Why do you think Eddie Barrow lets himself be eaten in 'Feeders and Eaters'? Does he have a choice?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

In some of the stories and poems in this collection, the author plays with characters and stories that belong to other authors and other books. Discuss one or two of these, and explain what he has changed and what he has left the same. Has he included any surprises or twists? Is the story or poem effective, or does it seem to have deviated too much from the feel of the original? What is the author trying to achieve with these stories? Stories and poems you could choose to discuss include 'A Study in Emerald,' 'Harlequin Valentine,' 'The Problem of Susan,' 'Goliath' and 'Inventing Aladdin.'

Essay Topic 2

How is fairyland represented in the stories and poems in this collection? What does the author have to say about magic?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss lessons in the stories and poems in this collection. Which poems and stories contain a moral? What kinds of morals or lessons are taught, and are they repeated in different stories? Do you think this is the author's own view?

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