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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 thoughts about religion.
(b) Her distance from the city.
(c) The direction she is traveling.
(d) The water level.

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

3. Where is the woman's landlady from?
(a) Trinidad.
(b) Cuba.
(c) Barbados.
(d) Jamaica.

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

5. What does the woman think might be preventing her from committing to a center for her story?
(a) Curiosity.
(b) Laziness.
(c) Fear.
(d) Hope.

Short Answer Questions

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

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

3. What can be inferred about the woman from the description of the women who try to get her to sit down at their church?

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

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)

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