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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 did Jimmy Rose have to offer the rich after he lost his fortune?

2. What does the narrator in "The Paradise of Bachelors" say has become of the Knights Templar?

3. How does the narrator in "The Lightning Rod Man" feel about the storm before the salesman arrives?

4. Why was Bannadonna excused for the homicide he committed?

5. How does the narrator of "The Apple-Tree Table" feel as his wife and daughters become more frightened?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does the narrator of "I and My Chimney" believe his chimney is good for invalids?

2. Why did the Spanish naval board of inquiry at first reject parts of Benito Cereno's deposition?

3. Why is the narrator despondent at the beginning of "The Fiddler"?

4. In "The Lightning Rod Man," why does the narrator pretend to mistake the salesman for the god Jupiter Tonans?

5. What does the narrator claim shows Jack Gentian's natural gentility?

6. According to the deposition in "Benito Cereno," what would have happened to Captain Delano if he had suspected a mutiny aboard the San Dominick?

7. What does the narrator of "The Fiddler" first admire about Hautboy?

8. What does the chimney in "I and My Chimney" provide for the narrator on the second landing?

9. Why does the narrator of "The Lightning Rod Man" compare the salesman to a worm?

10. What does the bug in the apple-tree table teach the narrator's daughter, Julia?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Melville is very fond of alliteration, such as " . . . mending rotten rail fences with their own rotten rails . . ." which is an incidence of "incipient idiocy." Find instances of this use of language and evaluate its effectiveness for you as a reader.

Essay Topic 2

A recurring theme in Melville's stories is the difference between appearance and reality. Choose a character such as Claggart, who appears to have only sterling qualities but is evil in his heart or a setting such as the mountain home in "The Piazza," which seems at first to be like a fairyland, to analyze the point Melville is making.

Essay Topic 3

Several of the stories in this collection deal with relationships between men and women. Using at least two stories as a basis, evaluate Melville's understanding of the status of women in his society and culture. Did he agree with, condemn, or remain neutral about the rights of women?

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