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 Nick listen to in "Now I Lay Me" while he is trying to fall asleep?

2. What had Nick's dad been out doing when he saw Prudence in the story "Ten Indians"?

3. What literary technique does Hemingway use most frequently in the collection of short stories included in "Men Without Women"?

4. In the story "An Alpine Idyll," what does John do at the table, while they are sitting in the inn?

5. In "A Canary For One," what does the American purchase while waiting for the train to move?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why do the innkeeper and the sexton call the peasant a beast in "An Alpine Idyll"?

2. What is the publication that the narrator of “Banal Story” is reading while Manuel lays dying and what types of articles are in the publication?

3. What is the mean stereotype that Carl says to Nick about his Indian girlfriend in "Ten Indians"?

4. Why is Mr. Turner so concerned about William in "A Pursuit Race"?

5. How would you describe the American woman traveling with a canary in "A Canary For One"?

6. Why do you think the author does not reveal that the narrator of "A Canary For One" is the American man, until the end of the story?

7. Why is the title of "Today Is Friday" in present tense?

8. What was the reason that the peasant needed to store his wife’s body until the weather changed in "An Alpine Idyll"?

9. What does Nick begin thinking about after John gives him advice in "Now I Lay Me"?

10. In "Now I Lay Me," when thinking about fishing and trout streams, and praying for all the people has known do not work to help him get to sleep, what does he resort to?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write an essay explaining how the author uses characters from war to depict the theme of the inevitability of aging. Describe how characters respond to the aging process and explain what this viewpoint suggests about the author.

Essay Topic 2

Write an essay arguing which protagonist is the most believable and why. Describe the protagonist, the events surrounding him/her, and explain how the author creates a protagonist who is realistic and evokes empathy in the reader.

Essay Topic 3

Write an essay explaining how the author feels about women and marriage. How does he use characters and events to support his belief?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 791 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample