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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 are the two failings the narrator sees in his middle-aged scrivener?

2. What age is the narrator of Bartleby?

3. What surprises the narrator when he goes to his office on a Sunday?

4. Who is the worst enemy of the narrator of "Cock-a-Doodle-Doo?"

5. To what sight in the city does Melville compare the islands of the Encantadas?

Short Essay Questions

1. In "Rich Man's Crumbs," why is the narrator called a "graceless ragamuffin"?

2. Why does Melville refer to Oberlus as "a creature whom it is religion to detest?"

3. What superstition do sailors have about the tortoises in "The Encantadas"?

4. What stylistic devices does Melville use to give the reader the feeling of the rooster's crow in "Cock-a-Doodle-Doo"?

5. How does the poet Blandmour feel about poverty in "Poor Man's Pudding"?

6. What does the narrator say happens to one in command who discovers a subordinate who is "significantly his superior"?

7. What words does the narrator use to describe Bartleby when he first meets him?

8. Why does Melville believe that American poor suffer more than European poor?

9. What does the author of "Poor Man's Pudding" and "Rich Man's Crumbs" pray that Heaven will save him from?

10. Why does the narrator continue to accept Bartleby's refusals?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Melville's use of time, switching back and forth between present and past tenses in the same story, is an unusual method to bring the reader a sense of immediacy. Select a story such as "The Two Temples" to analyze the effectiveness of this technique.

Essay Topic 2

Melville uses brief sketches to address large issues of social justice. Select two of the stories that work together, such as "The Paradise of Bachelors" and "The Tartarus of Maids," or "The Two Temples," to analyze the social issues addressed in those comparisons.

Essay Topic 3

Melville frequently reveals the character of a narrator through the narrator's observations and reactions to another character. "Bartleby the Scrivener" and "Benito Cereno" are examples of this technique. Select one of the stories in which the narrator reveals himself. Discuss how the character is revealed and the effectiveness of this technique for you as a reader.

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