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

2. Who gave the man and woman money to build a higher wall around their house?

3. What does the man say cats always do, so they need not worry about him getting hurt on the new fencing?

4. What is said to have happened in one family's home while the family was at dinner?

5. What are some of the things intruders would take from suburban homes?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

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

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

5. What did the son pretend to be the day after his mother read him a fairy tale from the book the Wise Old Witch gave him?

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

7. 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?

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

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

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write an essay examining security devices as a symbol in “Once Upon a Time.” In what scenes do these devices appear? What is the context? How do these devices develop the narrative?

Essay Topic 2

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 3

Write an essay analyzing the symbolic significance the man and the woman's economic status has on the story. Why is this important and how does it develop the themes of the story? What would be different if the family were poor? Use examples from the text to support your viewpoint.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 753 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample