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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. In the story "Now I Lay Me," why does John say he should not have gotten into the war?

2. Where had the American lady purchased the animal with whom she was traveling in "A Canary For One"?

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

4. Which of the three soldiers feels bad (or remorse) for what they have done in "Today Is Friday"?

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

Short Essay Questions

1. What are the three soldiers discussing while they drink in "Today is Friday"?

2. What do Nick and the Garner boys see on their trip back from the Fourth of July festivities in "Ten Indians"?

3. In "Banal Story," from what does Manuel Garcia eventually die?

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

5. Why does Nick think about trout streams and say prayers at night in "Now I Lay Me"?

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

7. 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?

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

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

10. What is the author’s attitude toward war?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write an essay explaining how Hemingway develops the theme of humanity’s competitive nature. Select one or more of the short stories as a focal point for illustrating how Hemingway uses that character (or those characters) and the events in developing this particular theme.

Essay Topic 2

Write an essay explaining the author’s development and use of the theme of loneliness and detachment from war. What suggestion does the author make about war and its repercussions? How does he use people to strengthen this theme?

Essay Topic 3

Hemingway gives names to some characters, but not others. Write an essay in which you explore why he gives his friend “Guy” a name in the story “Che Ti Dice La Patria?” but not himself? How does this decision affect the narrator’s reliability?

(see the answer keys)

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