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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. How is Almeda's spirit portrayed in the story?

2. How did Almeda's mother die?

3. What kind of life does Almeda instinctively desire?

4. What does Jarvis do with Almeda on Sundays?

5. Where does Almeda think that Jarvis might take her?

Short Essay Questions

1. Whose death also occurs close to Almeda's?

2. What does Almeda see when she looks outside for the noise and what does she do about what she discovers?

3. What romantic overtures has Jarvis made toward Almeda?

4. Why does Almeda now live alone?

5. What are the narrator's feelings about people's lack of curiosity regarding other people?

6. What does Almeda do as she sits in her dark house?

7. To what does the author compare the flow of people and time?

8. Where does Almeda live?

9. How does the author write Section 6 of the story?

10. How does the author indicate Almeda's social standing in the town?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Explain the nature of this book and why the author created it the way she did. Why did she choose to create a story fabricated from a framework of only historical facts? Is it effective? How is it different from reading a regular novel? How is it the same?

Essay Topic 2

Explain the concept of loneliness as it exhibits in the story. Which of the characters are lonely? Are they all lonely in some way? Explain the loneliness and the methods and attempts to overcome it.

Essay Topic 3

There is much symbolism in this story regarding the Meneseteung River. What does the river symbolize for Almeda? What does it mean for her work? Explain.

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