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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. In "It Happens All the Time in This House," what often comes to the narrator as she washes the dishes?

2. In "Breath From the Depths," what door does Lola chastise her husband about failing to lock?

3. In "Breath From the Depths," what does the husband buy that bothers Lola?

4. In "Breath From the Depths," what does Lola sometimes order for dinner?

5. In "It Happens All the Time in This House," who collects what Mrs. Weimer repeatedly throws on the narrator's lawn?

Short Essay Questions

1. In "It Happens All the Time in This House," what does the narrator feel obligated to say to Mr. Weimer towards the story's end?

2. Where do the narrator and her mother get stuck in "None of That"?

3. In "It Happens All the Time in This House," who lives with the narrator?

4. What does the narrator say has happened to her father in the story "None of that"?

5. In "Breath From the Depths," what unsettles Lola greatly about their neighborhood?

6. In "None of That," what does the daughter do to try to help her mother regarding the car?

7. What does the narrator tell the woman who has come looking for what the mother stole in "None of That"?

8. In "Breath From the Depths," what does Lola remember as a humiliating experience that at this point in the story, the reader does not know details of?

9. In "It Happens All the Time in This House," what does the narrator wish her own son will do at the very end of the story?

10. What does Mr. Weimer repeatedly collect from the narrator's lawn in "It Happens All the Time in This House"?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write an essay exploring the different meanings and symbolism Schweblin imbues houses with throughout this collection.

Essay Topic 2

In "Breath From the Depths," why is the cocoa so important to Lola, and what do you think it likely symbolizes? Write an essay explaining your answers, citing specific references to the text to help support your conclusions.

Essay Topic 3

In "Out," what does Schweblin reveal - and decide not to reveal - about the narrator's relationship with her spouse, and how do these choices affect the reader's understanding of the story? Write an essay explaining your answers, citing specific references to the text to help support your conclusions.

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