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. Who is Henry Brower?

2. George tells his friends about an event that took place how many years before?

3. In "For Owen," what is the name of the street passed while walking to school?

4. Why is George left home alone to watch Gramma?

5. What is the implication for George at the end of "Gramma"?

Short Essay Questions

1. "The Reaper's Image" is perhaps one of the creepiest tales in "Skeleton Crew." What aspect of this story make it particularly appropriate for a King collection?

2. 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?

3. 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?

4. At the end of "Nona," the narrator is surrounded by rats, and Nona herself turns into a huge, disgusting rat. The narrator then embraces the rat and indicates that he is planning suicide. What do you think this story is really about?

5. What do you think the story "For Owen" is about?

6. 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?

7. There is a rumor in the family that Gramma did something to Franklin to make him die. Do you think the family is just overreacting to their guilt and loss by blaming it on Gramma?

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

9. What is an example of a metaphor used in "Beachworld" and what comparison is it trying to convey?

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Setting is often a major contributing factor to the mood of a story or novel. However, many of King's stories in this book do not stress setting as much as character. Are there any stories in which the setting is an important factor to the mood? If so, which ones and why? How does King use his characters rather than the setting to set the mood in his stories?

Essay Topic 2

"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 3

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?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,010 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample