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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. In the story's opening sentence, what is implied about the main character's writing?
(a) She is losing interest in her career.
(b) She does not deserve the praise she has gotten.
(c) More than one of her stories is uninteresting.
(d) Her readers are gradually deserting her.

2. 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 to apologize for the argument they recently had.
(d) He wants her advice about whether to go to the hospital.

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?
(a) She is not a Christian.
(b) She is not Black.
(c) She is Jewish.
(d) She is White.

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

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

Short Answer Questions

1. What does the landlady say the mayor gave her?

2. Why was the woman reading the Bible during the period she writes about in her story?

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)?

4. For what reason, besides that "there may not be enough to tell about him," does the woman think that the man might not be the right "center" for her story (20)?

5. For the majority of the story, what tone does the narrator adopt?

(see the answer key)

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