View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What did the man and woman see outside while they were discussing the latest armed robbery one night?

2. How are the coils the man and woman have installed around their wall described when the workmen are putting them in?

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

4. What gifts did the man's mother give the little boy for Christmas the year they built a higher wall?

5. What did the husband tell his wife she was doing by giving things to the city people who came to the suburbs?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

3. 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?

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

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

6. Why were homeowners particularly crushed when intruders drank their single malt scotch?

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

8. How did the son end up getting entangled in the new security fence at the end of the story?

9. Describe the various security options the man and woman noticed during their neighborhood walk.

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write an essay analyzing Gordimer's decision to utilize the frame story of the narrator's bedtime tale in "Once Upon a Time." How does this impact the reader's understanding of the story's events? Is this effective? Why or why not?

Essay Topic 2

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 3

Write an essay describing the imagery used in “Once Upon a Time.” Indicate examples of imagery in the text and identify possible meanings.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 762 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample