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This quiz consists of 5 multiple choice and 5 short answer questions through Section 1: The Center of the Story.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What technique is used in the sentence: "The story is flat and even, just as the earth seems flat and even when a hurricane is advancing over it" (19)?
(a) Personification.
(b) Simile.
(c) Allegory.
(d) Allusion.

2. Why was the woman reading the Bible during the period she writes about in her story?
(a) Because she wanted to use Biblical allusions in her writing.
(b) Because she wanted to know exactly what it said.
(c) Because she needed comfort during the hurricane.
(d) Because it was the High Holy Days.

3. Who is "thinking of writing a letter to the President" (20)?
(a) The man who thinks he is dying.
(b) The landlady.
(c) The main character.
(d) The woman at the church.

4. In what religion are the High Holy Days a sacred time?
(a) Hinduism.
(b) Islam.
(c) Judaism.
(d) Christianity.

5. Who is the author of "The Center of the Story"?
(a) Judith Frank.
(b) Doris Betts.
(c) Maile Chapman.
(d) Lydia Davis.

Short Answer Questions

1. The man tells the woman that he has committed "blasphemy" (20). What has he done?

2. What technique is used in the phrase "the stink of burning hair, fur, and horn" (19)?

3. Besides reading the Bible, what else does the woman spend her time doing in the period of time her story is about?

4. How does the woman realize her study of religion has made her feel?

5. What technique is used in the sentence: "Outside her apartment, the weather was changing: the wind rose, the branches swayed on the young trees, and the leaves fluttered" (19)?

(see the answer key)

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