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. To what animal does Dave compare Bertha after she has left the store with Sykes?

2. Who first entreats Joe to bring a melon from the store and to slice it up for the men?

3. When Sykes says that one reason he caught the snake easily was because it had just had a meal, what does he say it had just eaten?

4. When Delia is described as trying to avoid meeting places in town, what does the narrator say she is trying to accomplish?

5. What two items does Sykes tell Joe Clarke he has come to buy?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does the author demonstrate the village's viewpoint regarding Sykes's keeping of the rattlesnake?

2. When Old Man Anderson suggests that the men kill Sykes, what is the men's reaction?

3. How does Sykes use the occasion of bringing home the rattlesnake in order to once again attack Delia's physical appearance?

4. What argumentative method does Delia use in order to convince Sykes that he needs to take the snake away from her home?

5. What two differing reasons does Sykes give for why he was able to catch the six-foot rattlesnake in the first place?

6. What causes a "determined silence" (4) to fall over the porch when the men are about to slice the watermelon?

7. What is the significance of the snake baring its "scimitar" (6)-like fangs at Delia?

8. What does Delia say is different about Bertha in comparison to other women with whom Sykes has had affairs?

9. For how long has Bertha been in Eatonville and how does she support herself?

10. How do Delia's actions and feelings in regard to the rattlesnake change once she sees its fangs wrapped around the wire mesh of its box?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What is signified by Delia's worry that Sykes is out with her horse and carriage at the start of the story and how does her worry relate to the themes inherent in the story?

Essay Topic 2

What is the role of sexuality within the short story Sweat?

Essay Topic 3

How is the conflict of racial tension presented within the short story Sweat?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,071 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample