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. The author of The Book hails from where?
(a) New Zealand.
(b) United States.
(c) Guatemala.
(d) South Africa.

2. Who is the author of The Shoe Breaker?
(a) Dovlatov.
(b) Peter Carey.
(c) Nadine Gordimer.
(d) Daniel Boulanger.

3. Who is the author of The Explosion in the Parlor?
(a) Julio Otega.
(b) Feng Jicai.
(c) Bai Xiao-yi.
(d) Bernard Malamud.

4. What is the character name of the murdered city-dweller in Di Grasso?
(a) Schwarz.
(b) Giovanni.
(c) Berlioz.
(d) James.

5. Who asks her father to allow her to forsake company and go hunt in the wild in Orion?
(a) Helen.
(b) Aphrodite.
(c) Athena.
(d) Artemis.

Short Answer Questions

1. What story of the collection did Paule Barton write?

2. Where is the author of There's a Man in the Habit of Hitting Me on the Head with an Umbrella from?

3. Where is the author of Mr. and Mrs. Martins from?

4. What is Katya's lover's profession in Katya?

5. Orion is killed by what in the story with his name?

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe the structure and imagery in the stories Snow and The Explosion in the Parlor. How do these narratives relate thematically to the whole of the collection?

2. What does the central character in Arrest Me have as his objective? Why?

3. What is the theme of Lost Keys? Who is the central character?

4. What is the setting of Di Grasso? From whose perspective is the story told?

5. What do the characters in Looking for the Rain God decide to do in order to bring rain?

6. Who are the characters in Emilie Plead Choose One Egg? What takes place in the story?

7. Who is the central character in There's a Man in the Habit of Hitting Me on the Head? What happens to him?

8. Who is the shoe breaker in The Shoe Breaker? What happens in this story?

9. What is the back-story established in Orion? Who are the main characters?

10. How do Di Grasso and The Street-Sweeping Show relate thematically?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 887 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample