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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 color is the light in the man's bedroom?
(a) Blue.
(b) Yellow.
(c) Grey.
(d) Purple.

2. The man tells the woman that he has committed "blasphemy" (20). What has he done?
(a) Shown disrespect to God.
(b) Contemplated suicide.
(c) Cursed God's name.
(d) Told a harmful lie about someone.

3. Why does the man in the story feel so ill?
(a) He has cancer.
(b) He is having a heart attack.
(c) He has food poisoning.
(d) He has the flu.

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

5. What detail in the description of the man's bedroom indicates how close the hurricane is getting?
(a) The windows rattling.
(b) The flickering electricity.
(c) The television weather forecast.
(d) The drawn blinds.

Short Answer Questions

1. On her train ride, what does the woman realize she has not given much thought to?

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. In the story's opening sentence, what is implied about the main character's writing?

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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