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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. What is the old couple's condition after the accident?

2. Terri teases the other couple for acting as if:

3. What does Mel say he would have liked to have done as a profession?

4. Why does Terri chastise Mel?

5. Who is distracted from his story about love by having another drink?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does the narrator hear at the end of the story, and why is this important?

2. Compare Mel and Terri's relationship to Nick and Laura's.

3. What happens after Mel's story about the old couple ends?

4. Describe Mel's relationship with his ex-wife.

5. What impact does point of view have on this story?

6. What was happening when Mel arrived at the hospital?

7. Does Terri think her ex-boyfriend loved her? Why?

8. How is a sense of repressed hostility presented in the story?

9. What two purposes does alcohol seem to serve in the story?

10. Why do you think the characters enter a depressive state by the end of the story?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Distinguish between tone and mood as used in literature, and then compare and contrast the tone and mood of Carver's story.

Essay Topic 2

Mel is a significant character in this story due to his monopolization of the conversation.

Part 1) Discuss the dynamics of Mel's character throughout the course of the story. Does he change much? Why or why not?

Part 2) Do the other characters in the story seem to like or dislike Mel? How can you tell?

Part 3) What are your opinions toward Mel by the end of the story? Do you like him or dislike him?

Essay Topic 3

Syntax is the way an author puts words, sentences, and sections together to form ideas and meanings. It can be overt or subtle, isolated to a portion of the work or universal throughout. Describe the syntax Carver uses in this story. How do specific characteristics about the syntax contribute to the reader's experience of the work?

(see the answer keys)

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