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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. What does Maureen do after the confrontation between Mike and the Greek?

2. Who is Lina to Richard Hagstrom?

3. Who is the subject of Homer's story?

4. Who is Richard Hagstrom in "Word Processor of the Gods"?

5. What message does the Greek send to Mike?

Short Essay Questions

1. Homer compares Mrs. Todd to several goddesses. What is the purpose of this comparison?

2. "The Wedding Gig" is rife with metaphors, figures of speech in which an implied comparison is made between two unlike things that actually have something in common. For example, "Love is a rose" is a metaphor. Identify a metaphor from "The Wedding Gig" and identify the two things being compared.

3. The narrator seems to follow a theme throughout the story. What is the main theme the narrator displays?

4. What is the basic conflict expressed in "The Monkey"? Is there an implied winner? If so, whom or what?

5. In "Here There Be Tygers", Charles returns to his classroom casually after the deaths of his teacher and classmate. What do you think this implies about what Charles has just experienced?

6. What seems to be the catalyst for Curt's break in sanity?

7. Compare/contrast the two rooms in the PAT. Why do you think they are so drastically different?

8. In "The Raft," Deke twice stops Randy from attempting to save Rachel. Was this the right thing to do, given the circumstances?

9. Why do you think King bases his entire introduction on a seemingly mundane conversation with a friend?

10. In "The Mist," what do you think is the underlying message the story conveys to the reader? Cite examples from the story.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The general atmosphere created in a story is often referred to as "tone." Identify the tone of the following short stories and describe how it adds or detracts from the story itself:

1. "The Mist"

2. "The Reaper's Image"

3. "For Owen"

4. Either of the "Milkman" stories

5. "Mrs. Todd's Shortcut"

Essay Topic 2

Using "Skeleton Crew" as your example, describe how Stephen King's writing style brought new fans to the horror genre. What does he use that most other horror writers don't? How does his incorporation of humor add to his stories? What do you think he does differently than other writers? What seems to be "textbook" about his approach to writing?

Essay Topic 3

Symbolism is the use of an object, character, figure, place, or color to represent an abstract idea or concept. Stephen King uses symbolism quite readily in his writing. Give three examples of symbolism in "Skeleton Crew" and describe how the use of those symbols makes the story more interesting.

(see the answer keys)

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