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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. What does Seymour do when he sits down on the bed after grabbing the object out of the suitcase?

2. What needs $400 to be repaired?

3. What is Ginnie's full name?

4. How does Walt die?

5. Why does Muriel's telephone caller ask so many questions about Seymour's behavior?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does the reader learn about Muriel's mother during the "A Perfect Day for Bananafish" story?

2. What leads the reader to believe that tension is building throughout the story?

3. What do Walt and Jimmy Jimmereeno have in common in the story Uncle Wiggly in Connecticut?

4. Why can the reader sympathize with Eloise more than envy her?

5. Who is the Laughing Man?

6. Why does Muriel insist that Seymour isn't capable of harmful actions?

7. Why are Mary Jane and Eloise good friends for each other?

8. Who speaks the most during the story, Just Before the War with the Eskimos, and from who's point of view is the story told?

9. Why is Mary Jane part of the story, Uncle Wiggly in Connecticut?

10. Why aren't there any men 'seen' in the story, Uncle Wiggily in Connecticut?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Salinger says he writes about young people so much because he wants to not only speak to them, but for them. Do you think he accomplishes that goal throughout Nine Stories? Why or why not? Use specific examples from the book.

Essay Topic 2

The wealthy and bored housewife character is written about in a couple of the short stories in Salinger's collection. Explore this character by comparing and contrasting the women. What do they have in common? Why is this a returning type of character in the collection?

Essay Topic 3

Why is Eloise so consumed by her daughter's imaginary friends in the story, Uncle Wiggily in Connecticut? Why is she so eager for the imaginary friends to go away? Why are both imaginary friends male? Does that affect Eloise's hatred of them? Use examples from the story to explain your answers.

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