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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 does Edith feel when she joins Ede in her misbehavior?

2. What causes the two men to stop fighting?

3. What word describes John's attitude toward Joe during their argument?

4. What interrupts Edith's thoughts about John as the party is winding down?

5. What does Ede do right after Mrs. Markey says that she does not find the situation funny?

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe the setting of "The Baby Party."

2. What reason does the narrator give for the children's good behavior?

3. What does John Andros see as the drawbacks to being a father?

4. What causes Edith to laugh during the altercation between Ede and Billy?

5. How do the mothers react to Ede, and how does she react to the party?

6. What does Edith see when she first arrives at the baby party?

7. How does Edith prepare Ede for the party, and why?

8. How do John and Joe end up fighting?

9. What does Edith do each weekday afternoon, and why?

10. How does the dispute between Ede and Billy begin, and what happens during their argument?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write an essay that makes and defends a claim about narrative voice in "The Baby Party." Use textual evidence to defend your observations.

Essay Topic 2

Read the article "When Did Girls Start Wearing Pink?" by Jeanne Maglaty (available online). Then, think about how this seemingly small detail in the story actually has real significance. Why does Edith choose pink? How does this change your understanding of her comments to John on the phone? How does it change your understanding of John's wondering if the dress is "something radical and mature"? (4) What are the women at the party probably thinking when Ede appears dressed in pink? Write an essay in which you make and defend a claim about the significance of Ede's pink dress. Be sure to defend your observations with evidence from the text.

Essay Topic 3

Write an essay that examines how Fitzgerald uses diction as a method of characterization in "The Baby Party." Defend your claims with quoted textual evidence.

(see the answer keys)

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