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 was served to eat for Sunday dinners when the narrator in "Cloudland" was in a home waiting to have her baby?

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

3. In "Equivalent," how often does the seller arrive unannounced to pick up something he left behind?

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

5. What type of dog does Lois have in "Cloudland," which the narrator is watching?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. At the end of "Cloudland," what does the narrator say about apples?

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

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

5. In "Cloudland," what is the only race the narrator ever ran, and how does she describe the race?

6. In "The Correct Grip," what happened to a friend of the narrator?

7. Why is the narrator able to work two to three days a week in "Cloudland"?

8. What requests did Bob make before he died?

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

10. How does the narrator describe a painting titled "Water Damage," and how does the narrator like the painting?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Mood is an element that authors use to evoke feelings in readers through the use of descriptive language. Mood is the overall feeling that readers have when reading a story. What is the overall mood of the stories and the book?

Essay Topic 2

In “Cloudland,” some characters are more thoroughly described than others. Who are some characters that are merely named in passing or have a minor role in the novel? What is the importance of these flat characters to the story line? In what way do these characters make the main characters more colorful or interesting? When there is conflict, what type of role do these flat characters play?

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)

This section contains 929 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample