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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. How old is Becky and how old is the narrator when he begins seeing her behind his wife's back?

2. What has next door's cat left on the professor's doormat?

3. Why does the narrator not want to go to the party?

4. What does Miss Corvier give Eddie Barrow as a present?

5. What is remarkable about the narrator of 'Goliath'?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is the 'problem of Susan'?

2. In what ways is 'In The End' a reversal of the creation story in Genesis?

3. Describe the character of Harlequin.

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

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

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

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

8. Do the machines feel emotion?

9. Describe how the disease progresses in Disease Maker's Croup.

10. How does the father in 'Locks' interpret the story differently from his two-year-old child?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

How many of the stories and poems in this collection are horror stories? Why do you consider them to be horror stories? How has the author used language, structure, pace, and symbolism to create a scary or creepy atmosphere? Are these conventional horror stories or something a bit different?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the theme of identity in 'October in the Chair,' 'The Facts in the Case of the Departure of Miss Finch,' 'Strange Little Girls,' and 'Harlequin Valentine.'

Essay Topic 3

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.'

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