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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 want to hunt for in the water with Sybil?

2. Who is the only person that can truly make Eloise laugh?

3. How many kids are in the Comanche Club?

4. What time of year is the story, Uncle Wiggily in Connecticut, set?

5. Who is Sybil Carpenter?

Short Essay Questions

1. 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?

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

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

4. Who is the Laughing Man?

5. Why is the setting appropriate for the story, Uncle Wiggily in Connecticut?

6. What clues is the reader given that Franklin is bitter about Joan?

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

8. What does Franklin do to make Ginnie look at him in a positive light?

9. What is the issue with the book Seymour gives Muriel?

10. What does the floating red tissue represent in The Laughing Man?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Dialogue is used heavily throughout the book. Cite examples of the use of dialogue that are especially memorable. Why is dialogue so important to this short story collection? How does it help the reader? What does dialogue keep from the reader?

Essay Topic 2

In For Esme - With Love and Squalor, a young girl becomes a powerful leader in recovery for the narrator. Why is Esme able to be so helpful to a solider that is so adversely affected by the war? What simple acts help him most? Why isn't his family able to help as much as Esme? How does a 13-year-old that he meets one time leave such a lasting impression?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss irony as a theme throughout the Nine Stories collection. How is it used to create suspense, power and other emotions that are meant to draw the reader into the stories?

(see the answer keys)

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