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

2. 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) Juxtaposition.
(d) Analogy.

3. What does the sick man want when he calls the main character?
(a) He wants to talk about death and the afterlife.
(b) He wants her to come over and help him.
(c) He wants her advice about whether to go to the hospital.
(d) He wants to apologize for the argument they recently had.

4. On her train ride, what does the woman realize she has not given much thought to?
(a) Her friend's illness.
(b) Her next story.
(c) The devil.
(d) The newscasters.

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

Short Answer Questions

1. Who is with the landlady when the landlady is talking about the mayor?

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

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

4. 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)?

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

(see the answer key)

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