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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. Who is the main female character?
2. How does Sammy finally respond to Mother's second question?
3. What is the promise that Mother reminds Father he made to her?
4. What is Mother's reaction to why the men are digging?
5. What is the second thing Mother asks of Father once the bantering is over?
Short Essay Questions
1. How does Mother view the location of the new barn and her existing house?
2. What does Mother do all day as she processes this new information about why the men are digging outside? Describe her attitude, and give reasons to support your answer.
3. Describe the scene when the minister arrives to speak to Mother.
4. What is the scene at the dinner table after Mother tells Father where they will live from now on?
5. When the hay cart arrives while Father is on his trip, what does Mother do?
6. Does the author let the reader know whether the main character's decision coincides with her own morality? Explain.
7. What does Mother do following Father's return home to let him know that this is how things are going to be from now on?
8. Mother makes the following comment to Nanny: "Unsolicited opportunities are the guideposts of the Lord to the new roads of life." What does Mother mean by this statement?
9. What is the scene and what is said when Father opens the barn doors after arriving home from his trip?
10. What instructions does Father give to Mother before he leaves on his trip?
Essay Topics
Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:
Essay Topic 1
Write about the social convention of the way women were viewed during this time in, as portrayed in this essay. Why do you think the author wrote this story with regard to the way women were viewed? What was the author's point in writing this short story? Was she trying to effect change or simply providing a humorous look at marriage?
Essay Topic 2
Of the four main characters (Father, Mother, Nanny, and Sammy), pick one, and explain her or his struggle with social convention during this time. Does the character fight the convention or succumb to it? What is the motivation for this character to follow social convention? Is the motivation purely to go along with what everyone else is doing, or is there some other reason given in the story that provides motivation to make the choices the character does?
Essay Topic 3
The reader learns that the townspeople are gossiping about Mother's actions. Does the author mean this to be symbolism for something else? What is the symbolism behind the women talking about it in their homes and the men discussing it on the roads? What is the symbolism behind the men standing on the road awaiting Father's arrival?
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This section contains 951 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) |
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