View a FREE sample

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 does the landlady say the mayor gave her?
(a) A stove.
(b) Flowers.
(c) An award.
(d) Carpet.

2. 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) Allegory.
(b) Allusion.
(c) Personification.
(d) Simile.

3. What does the hurricane do to the city in the woman's story?
(a) Drops large hail that smashes windows in buildings and in cars.
(b) Passes by without actually striking the city.
(c) Produces winds that uproot trees and tear off several roofs.
(d) Causes flooding that disrupts transportation.

4. For the majority of the story, what tone does the narrator adopt?
(a) Dismissive.
(b) Melancholic.
(c) Amused.
(d) Objective.

5. Why does the main character find that the story she is working on is not an easy one to write?
(a) It is about fear.
(b) It is about death.
(c) It is about friendship.
(d) It is about religion.

Short Answer Questions

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

2. Where is the woman's landlady from?

3. What detail of the woman's train ride reinforces the motif of things that come close to happening but do not actually happen?

4. What detail in the description of the man's bedroom indicates how close the hurricane is getting?

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

(see the answer key)

This section contains 299 words (approx. 1 page at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample