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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. Of Deborah, the narrator says in “Life in the Iron Mills,” “Perhaps the weak, flaccid wretch had some stimulant in her pale life to keep her up—some love or hope, it might be, or urgent need. When that stimulant was gone, she would take to” what?

2. What night of the week is it that Deborah brings Hugh his dinner at the mill in the beginning of “Life in the Iron Mills”?

3. When was Rebecca Harding Davis’s last essay, “The Disease of Money-Getting,” published?

4. Christ is described in “Life in the Iron Mills” as having stood “with the fishermen and harlots by the sea of” what?

5. Where does Deborah say Hugh was born in “Life in the Iron Mills”?

Short Essay Questions

1. What realization does Hugh have after his interaction with the visitors at the mill in “Life in the Iron Mills”? What does he do next?

2. How would you describe the setting of “Life in the Iron Mills”? What tone is established through the story’s setting?

3. When did Rebecca Harding Davis write “Life in the Iron Mills”? Who published it?

4. What is the moment of greatest hope in “Life in the Iron Mills”? How is this hope dashed?

5. How is the setting described in “Life in the Iron Mills”? How does the setting in which the narrator exists differ from the setting of Deb and Hugh’s story?

6. How did the outbreak of the Civil War impact Rebecca Harding Davis’s work, according to the author of “A Biographical Interpretation”?

7. How is Hugh’s demeanor in the jail described in “Life in the Iron Mills”? What are Deborah’s impressions when she sees Hugh?

8. How are the themes of poverty and class entrapment illustrated through the character of Hugh in “Life in the Iron Mills”?

9. What does Hugh look down on from his prison window at in “Life in the Iron Mills”? What does this scene make him realize?

10. What is the basic story related in the plot of “Life in the Iron Mills”? How would you “sum up” the story in one or two sentences?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Plot Structure

a. Discuss the plot structure of stories in the collection. In what ways is the narrative related and what effect does this have on the reader?

b. How do the stories in the collection compare with other works written during this time period? Are there specific stylistic elements that can be seen in Davis’s writing?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the theme of women’s roles and expectations seen in “Anne.” How do these roles represent disappointment for Mrs. Palmer? How does she justify leaving behind her duties as mother? Are her actions admirable? Why or why not?

Essay Topic 3

Describe and discuss the characters of Anne and Mrs. Palmer in “Anne.” How old are each of these characters? What do they look like? What are their actions in the story?

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