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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 does Walt die?

2. How many New York advertising men are staying at the same hotel as Muriel Glass?

3. Where does the main character of the story, The Laughing Man, get lost?

4. How does Ginnie describe Selena's brother?

5. What does the narrator see floating in the wind when he gets off the Chief's vehicle to walk home?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. What is Seymour hospitalized for?

3. How does the reader know the setting takes place shortly after the end of World War II?

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

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

6. What happens with Seymour and the trees?

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

8. Who is the Laughing Man?

9. Why is the reader uncertain whether Seymour is going to shoot himself, Muriel or both when he grabs the pistol out of the suitcase?

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Why does the narrator in De Daumier-Smith's Blue Period feel the need to lie about so many details in the letter of application for the art teaching position? Explore the reasons why he continues the lies upon arrival as well.

Essay Topic 2

Coming of Age is a theme seen in a few of the stories, including The Laughing Man. Explore and discuss the theme and why it is used is more than one story. How is it used? Why does Salinger use a Coming of Age theme in several stories? How can any reader relate to this theme, especially your age group?

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?

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This section contains 907 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample