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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. In Iguana Hunting, a boy goes to the country to visit his cousin Chidra and who?

2. When was the author of Weather in San Francisco born?

3. Where does the daughter of the lord die in The Blue Jar?

4. As Marta falls in The Falling Girl, the people get gradually more and more what as she nears the ground?

5. What does the gypsy's monkey bring to him in On Hope?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does the gypsy try getting rid of the stolen item in On Hope? How is he thwarted in his attempts?

2. What is the central theme in At the River? How is this manifested in the central characters?

3. What stories in the beginning of the collection focus on the theme of aging? How do these stories relate to one another?

4. How does On Hope end? Where is the gypsy in the end of the narrative?

5. Describe the structure of Welcoming the Board of Directors. How does the author use metaphor in the narrative?

6. What is the central conflict facing the family in An Insolvable Problem of Genetics? How do they go about remedying it?

7. Who is the central character in House Opposite? What decision does he make in the narrative?

8. What is the setting of Blue? What is troubling the citizens in the narrative?

9. Who is the central character in Don't You Blame Anyone and what is his central action in the narrative?

10. Who is the central character in La Volpaia? Who joins him on his journey?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Compare the works Welcoming the Board of Directors and The Boy. How is the narrative voice in the stories different? What differences exist in the stories' tones? How is the teacher in The Boy reflective of Oates feminist perspective?

Essay Topic 2

Describe the setting of At the River and analyze the story's principle theme of age. How does this story's depiction of aging relate to others in the anthology?

Essay Topic 3

Describe Doris Lessing's career, style and awards. How is Lessing's work represented in Homage to Isaac Babel? What recurring themes appear in Lessing's works?

(see the answer keys)

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