View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What does the milkman place on the empty chocolate milk container at the McCarthy home?
(a) A tarantula.
(b) A scorpion.
(c) A brown recluse.
(d) A black widow.

2. Why does Greer feel that Henry is headed for a breakdown?
(a) Henry's brothers and sisters all went mad.
(b) Henry is despondent over his role in the death of a child in Bombay.
(c) Henry's wife and children died from a plague he brought home from Bombay.
(d) Henry can't seem to get his life together.

3. What items got Gramma fired from her job?
(a) Pills.
(b) Coins.
(c) Books.
(d) Religious statuary.

4. How did Henry win the poker game?
(a) He seemed to know the cards before they were drawn.
(b) Cheating.
(c) He had a partner placed strategically in the room.
(d) Bluffing.

5. Who is Spike?
(a) The vampire.
(b) The dog.
(c) The milkman.
(d) The mechanic.

Short Answer Questions

1. Richard Pine's story details the accounts of whom?

2. Where does Nona take the narrator?

3. What is the name of the fiction editor for Logan's magazine?

4. What realization does Rocky make as he and Leo are on a drunken joyride?

5. What is hanging on the blood covered meat hook in the milkman's truck?

Short Essay Questions

1. Often, a killer's choice of weapon will say a lot about that person. What do you think Spike's method of operation and choice of weapon say about him?

2. Rocky is dismayed and angered that the milkman, Spike, impregnated his wife. Spike seems not the least bit intimidated, possibly even enjoying Rocky's discomfort. Do you think Spike did what he did in order to specifically anger Rocky, or do you think Spike doesn't care what anyone thinks?

3. What is the significance of the opening in "The Man Who Would Not Shake Hands"?

4. What is an example of personification in the story "Beachworld"? How does it affect the story? Explain why you chose this example.

5. Henry finally shares his story with a few close friends years later about Reg and the Fornits. Why do you think it took him so long to share this information?

6. Uncle Otto's business partner, George, was killed in an accident involving Otto's truck. Most people believe that Otto killed George over a business disagreement. Given the circumstances of the ending, do you think it was Uncle Otto or Uncle Otto's truck that killed George and why?

7. Henry encourages a writer who apparently believes in the whimsical creatures about which he writes. Henry begins the encouragement out of amusement and boredom. Do you think the resulting actions leading to the writer's death were what Henry expected to happen?

8. Rocky seems to be a bit of an intimidator himself. Though it is long past closing time, he coerces his friend into giving his car an inspection sticker. What do you think this says about Rocky?

9. What do you think would be the worst part of being afflicted as Brower is in "The Man Who Would Not Shake Hands"? Use examples from the text to support your theory.

10. Foreshadowing is when an event early in the story hints at an event to take place later in the story. Find an example of foreshadowing in "The Man Who Would Not Shake Hands." Cite the foreshadowing event and the event it foreshadows.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,002 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample