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

2. What leads Thorpe's wife to become frightened of him?

3. What is the reasoning behind Rocky's inebriation?

4. What does Quentin see when he enters Uncle Otto's house after buying groceries for him?

5. What reasoning does Henry give for not shaking hands?

Short Essay Questions

1. What type of irony can be found within "Survivor Type"? Be sure to use examples from the text to support your theory.

2. 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.

3. Identify a simile from "The Reaper's Image" and explain how the simile adds to the description.

4. Compare Henry and Reg and how their relationship affected them both.

5. 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?

6. Think about the setting of "The Man Who Would Not Shake Hands." How does the setting of this story add to its scary feeling?

7. 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?

8. Quentin seems terrified of Uncle Otto's truck himself, especially after seeing first hand what happened to Uncle Otto. What does Quentin fear the most?

9. Richard Pine is a man who has made his fortune as a surgeon with his hands, but the rest of his life has been shady and complicated. However, through it all, he protected his hands. How do you think he felt when his hands were the only things he had left, and he was faced with eating those for survival?

10. 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?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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 2

In "The Mist," human sacrifice is presented as a potential solution to appease the creatures attacking the people in the grocery store? What do you think King is implying about human nature by suggesting this as an option?

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)

This section contains 1,125 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample