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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. Where did the main character in "Banal Story" read that 21 feet of snow had fallen?

2. What is the name of Nick's orderly in "Now I Lay Me"?

3. In "Now I Lay Me," what is the specific item Nick remembers, which belonged to his parents?

4. What time of year does “An Alpine Idyll” take place?

5. What is Mr. Turner's relationship to William in "A Pursuite Race"?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Nick respond when he hears about Prudence Mitchelle and Frank Washburn in "Ten Indians"?

2. Overall, what is the author’s perspective on women and romantic relationships?

3. How does William respond when Mr. Turner accuses him of drinking too much and of needing help in "A Pursuit Race"?

4. 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?

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

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

7. 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?

8. What does William say about the wolf he sees and hears in "A Pursuit Race"?

9. Why does the third soldier in "Today is Friday" not want to drink with the others?

10. In "Now I Lay Me," how does Nick think that John would react if he saw him after he had been released from the hospital?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write an essay explaining the author’s development and use of the theme loss of innocence. What suggestion does the author make about losing innocence? How does he use dialogue to strengthen this theme?

Essay Topic 2

Write an essay explaining how the author uses characters to develop the theme of unjust stereotyping. Explain how individuals and certain stories strengthen this idea.

Essay Topic 3

Several of the short stories are told from the perspective of a man named Nick, who is thought to represent Hemingway himself. Write an essay analyzing the author’s choice to tell certain stories from Nick’s point of view. How does viewing the events from Nick’s point of view affect the narrative tone?

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This section contains 695 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample