View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does John Barton buy with the money he pawned his belongings for?

2. What does Mary realize about Jem in Chapter 11?

3. Who is described as "a back-biting enemy of John Barton's"?

4. Who are the Green Hey Fields popular with?

5. Who does Will Wilson wish to marry?

Short Essay Questions

1. What job does Mary find and how is she compensated for her work?

2. Why does John Barton go to London in Chapter 8?

3. What resolution do Mr. Barton and his daughter make after Mrs. Barton's death?

4. When Jem Wilson visits the Bartons at the beginning of Chapter 8, how does Mary treat him?

5. What does Jem do to anger young Mary Barton?

6. What happens when Mrs. Barton goes into labor in Chapter 3?

7. How does John Barton help the Davenport family?

8. According to the story she told Jem, what happened in Esther's life since she disappeared years earlier?

9. How does the author describe the factory girls at the Green Hey Fields?

10. Why is Mrs. Barton upset in the first two chapters of the novel?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Forgiveness is a recurring motif in the novel. What examples of forgiveness can be found, and what compels the characters to forgive others?

Essay Topic 2

Death is a recurring motif in the novel "Mary Barton". Discuss the deaths in the novel. What purpose do they serve? Why would Gaskell feature so many deaths in the narrative?

Essay Topic 3

Who is the antagonist of the story? Why? Give examples from the text to illustrate your points.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 639 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample