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

2. Whose name does Aunt Flo tell George to invoke?

3. Who is said to be a part of the legend associated with the looking glass?

4. During what historical period was the looking glass made?

5. Who follows Rocky and Leo as they leave the garage?

Short Essay Questions

1. Reg likely suffers from a serious mental illness, yet Henry continues to encourage Reg's fantasies. What do you think was Henry's motivating factor?

2. 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?

3. Rumor had it that Gramma was a witch and apparently became one because she could not carry a baby to term. Do you think Gramma was justified to dabble in witchcraft to attain her dream?

4. 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?

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

6. 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.

7. 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?

8. In "Nona," an innocent and once-upstanding man falls prey to the wiles of a sadistic, evil woman. Giving in to his "darker" side, he performs obscene, despicable acts at the whim of Nona. What do you think King is trying to say with this short story?

9. 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?

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

"Nona" is a story about a man who seems to be under the influence of an odd woman named Nona. Under her influence, he commits murder like he's been doing it all of his life. At the end of the story, Nona turns into a rat and the narrator leaves a suicide note. What do you think King's plot is in this story? Following the winding, sometimes foggy, storyline is at times difficult. What do you think the point of the story is, and what is the point of the narrator's suicide?

Essay Topic 2

An epiphany is a sudden, powerful, and often life changing realization that a character experiences in an otherwise ordinary moment. Can you think of an epiphany in "Word Processor of the Gods"? What is the epiphany? How will it change that character's life?

Essay Topic 3

Conflict in any story or novel is developed by interaction between protagonist and antagonist. Choose any one of the stories in "Skeleton Crew" and identify the protagonist and antagonist in the story and the conflict that develops between them. What does this add to the story?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,028 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample