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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 detail of the woman's train ride reinforces the motif of things that come close to happening but do not actually happen?
(a) Her distance from the city.
(b) The direction she is traveling.
(c) The water level.
(d) Her thoughts about religion.

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

3. 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)?
(a) Non sequitur.
(b) Parallelism.
(c) Analogy.
(d) Juxtaposition.

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

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

Short Answer Questions

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

2. What does the woman suspect that the man believes about his blasphemy?

3. What does the sick man want when he calls the main character?

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

5. After completing her first draft of the story, what does the woman realize about it?

(see the answer key)

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