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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 paintings that the narrator of "Cloudland" loves, what does her artist friend paint?

2. What type of berry does the narrator get from the college campus in "Cloudland"?

3. Where is an elderly man found in "The Quiet Car"?

4. How old is the man the narrator of "Cloudland" checks up on on Thursday afternoons?

5. What type of seafood do the narrator and her friends order, in "The Second Seating"?

Short Essay Questions

1. In "Cloudland," what is the narrator's job, and what are some of her job duties?

2. In "The Second Seating," what do the narrator and friends have to eat and drink?

3. What requests did Bob make before he died?

4. In "Cloudland," what does the narrator go to the college to get?

5. What does the narrator see in her backyard in "Moonbow," and what does she think it is?

6. What advice does the wife of the narrator's attacker ask in "The Correct Grip," and what advice does the narrator give?

7. Where was the most beautiful yard the narrator ever had, and what does she say it was like in this part of "Cloudland"?

8. In "Cloudland," what does the narrator think about the fire at the home?

9. In "Equivalent," why does the narrator ask the seller of her house to help with difficult chores when he comes by?

10. In "Cloudland," what does the narrator consider doing with kumquats and why will she probably not do it?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

In “The Chicane,” Lauryn is a troubled woman who commits suicide. What do the relationships that Lauryn has reveal about her? Why is she a mystery to the people who are the closest to her? What does her suicide reveal about her and the type of person that she was?

Essay Topic 2

The narrator in “Cloudland” had a baby when she was a teenager. How has the birth of the child affected the narrator’s emotional state throughout her life? When does the narrator begin to realize that she has been carrying the trauma and pain from the birth ever since? How does this realization help the narrator let go of the past?

Essay Topic 3

Foreshadowing in literature hints at what will happen in a story. What instances of foreshadowing are there in “Cloudland”? What does foreshadowing reveal? How does the author use foreshadowing and how does it affect plot?

(see the answer keys)

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