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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. The narrator in “Life in the Iron Mills” says that it is nearly how long since the Wolfes lived in the boarding house in the beginning of the story?

2. Hugh’s legs are describes as being ironed because he made how many attempts at escape from jail in “Life in the Iron Mills”?

3. In what year did the author of “A Biographical Interpretation” republish Life in the Iron Mills and Other Stories?

4. Rebecca Harding and L. Clarke Davis became engaged how long after meeting?

5. The narrator describes the mill workers in the beginning of “Life in the Iron Mills” as “laired in by day in dens of drunkenness and” what?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is the outcome for Hugh in the denouement of “Life in the Iron Mills”?

2. How would you describe the author’s use of dialogue in “Life in the Iron Mills”?

3. How is the character of Janey described in “Life in the Iron Mills”? What is Janey’s relationship to the other characters?

4. How does the author of “A Biographical Interpretation” depict Rebecca Harding Davis’s relationship with her first publisher?

5. How would you describe the narrator of “Life in the Iron Mills”? Is the narrator involved in the action of the story?

6. How did Rebecca Harding meet L. Clarke Davis? Where did they first meet, according to the author of “A Biographical Interpretation”?

7. 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?

8. 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?

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

10. How would you describe the ending of “Life in the Iron Mills”? Does the story end on a happy or sad note?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Poverty and Oppression in Life in the Iron Mills and Other Stories

a. Discuss the theme of oppression seen in “Life in the Iron Mills.” What is the origin of this oppression? Is the antagonist of the story a person or a concept?

b. How does the theme of oppression apply to “The Wife’s Story” and “Anne”? In what ways are the protagonists of these stories oppressed?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the character of Hugh Wolfe as one of the two protagonists in “Life in the Iron Mills.” What qualities does Hugh exhibit that represent the “hero” of the story? How is his relationship to Deborah a driving force in the plot of the story? Which character’s actions drive the plot?

Essay Topic 3

Women’s Roles in Life in the Iron Mills and Other Stories

a. Discuss the roles and expectations of women as seen in the stories in the collection. How are women’s roles central to the plot of each of these stories?

b. How would you compare the women characters and men characters in the stories in the collection? How are they similar? How do they differ?

(see the answer keys)

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