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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. Why did the wife suggest they build a higher wall around their house?

2. What does the boy pretend the serrated metal coils are at the end of the story?

3. In addition to taken items from homes, what did the suburban intruders do in the homes?

4. What is the gardener doing as he walks back to the house at the end of the story?

5. What does the mother do to get the boy to sleep at the end of the story?

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe what would likely happen should someone attempt to climb the wall with the serrated metal coils installed?

2. Who helps remove the little boy at the end of the story? How do they do it?

3. Rather than noting lovely roses and gardens, what did the man and woman begin to admire during their neighborhood walks with their son and dog?

4. What did the unemployed begin doing in the suburbs?

5. After building a higher wall, what did the man and woman notice the cat doing one night while discussing the latest robberies?

6. After the man and woman decided they should build a higher wall, what did the man's mother get them for Christmas? What did she get for their son?

7. Despite thinking it the ugliest, what option did the man and woman choose to enhance security after building a higher wall?

8. What were intruders able to do even while the alarms wailed in the suburbs, and what did they take?

9. What did the wife do for the people who hung around looking for work outside their home? What did the housemaid think of them?

10. Why did the neighborhood alarm systems tend to go unanswered?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write an essay analyzing Gordimer's language style and word choice in "Once Upon a Time." What are some words that stand out to you and why? What words are repeated? What words are most impactful? Explain your answers.

Essay Topic 2

Pick a character from the story and discuss their goals and motives. Do they achieve their motive? Do they share similar goals and motives with other characters? Do their goals clash with other characters? How do the characters' goals and motives affect their interaction with each other?

Essay Topic 3

Write an essay about the author of “Once Upon a Time.” Who is she? What else has she written? How is “Once Upon a Time” similar or different from her other works?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 746 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample