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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 catches the narrator's attention, urging him to go inside the church?

2. Why doesn't Arthur leave his wife?

3. Who is claiming to be an admiral?

4. What does Esme include with a letter in the package to the narrator?

5. What does Lionel promise his mother recently?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does the story, Down at the Dinghy, end?

2. Why is it ironic that the school closes down for not having a business license?

3. Why does Arthur want to move to Connecticut?

4. What does Arthur do for a living? How does the reader know?

5. Why does Arthur call Lee back and pretend Joanie is finally home?

6. Why is Sandra so worried about Lionel when he runs away in Down at the Dinghy?

7. Why does the narrator like the bulletin board outside the church so much in For Esme -- with Love and Squalor?

8. Why does the tea room likely suit the narrator as a place to spend his last few hours in the town rather than the Red Cross recreation room?

9. Describe the narrator in For Esme -- with Love and Squalor.

10. Why does the narrator and Bobby move back to New York nine years later?

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

Why is Nine Stories an important collection of short stories? What does it contribute to American literary history?

Essay Topic 3

New York and Connecticut are widely used throughout the book. What generalizations can be made about each city after having read Nine Stories? Do you want to go to either place? Do you live in either place? Does the story collection make you want to visit either place? Use examples from the book to explain your answers.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 852 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample