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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 the narrator realize is the reason for the creaking sound in her house?

2. What were the Chopi and Tsonga people the narrator says may have made the wooden instrument she describes when discussing her heart beating?

3. What adjective is used to describe the gardener in the narrator's tale?

4. Why did the neighborhood alarms often go unanswered after many had them installed?

5. What are the man and woman warned against doing as they start their lives together?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does the man have installed in their house to ease his wife's fears and what does the boy do with them?

2. What precautions do the man and woman take against theft or natural disasters when they first move in to their home together?

3. What does the narrator realize is the cause of the creaking she hears in her home at the start of the story?

4. After the riots outside the city subsided, what crimes took place in the suburbs?

5. Describe the sign the man and woman received from the Neighborhood watch. How was it supposed to "prove the property owner was no racist" (25)?

6. Despite having the same fears of intruders as other people, what precautions does the narrator say she does not take in her home?

7. Where does the story the narrator tells herself take palce and who is in the story?

8. Why is the narrator unable to sleep at the start of the story?

9. At the start of "Once Upon a Time," what does the narrator say someone wrote and asked her to do, and how does she feel about this request?

10. How is the man's mother described and what warning did she give her son and his wife as they start their life together?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write a detailed analysis of tone in Gordimer's “Once Upon a Time.” Include whether the tone changes or remains the same. If it changes, include details on when, why and whether this change is effective.

Essay Topic 2

Write a brief essay analyzing the title “Once Upon a Time.” Explore the ways in which this title connects to the plot and themes of the story.

Essay Topic 3

Genre is a category assigned to a literary work. What are some genres that could be used to classify "Once Upon a Time"? What is the main genre of the story? Explain.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 767 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample