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This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

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

2. Why was the woman reading the Bible during the period she writes about in her story?
(a) Because she needed comfort during the hurricane.
(b) Because she wanted to know exactly what it said.
(c) Because she wanted to use Biblical allusions in her writing.
(d) Because it was the High Holy Days.

3. What does the woman suspect that the man believes about his blasphemy?
(a) It is the reason she is angry at him.
(b) It is no one's business but his own.
(c) It caused the hurricane.
(d) It caused his illness.

4. What denomination is the last church that the woman visits?
(a) Episcopalian.
(b) Congregationalist.
(c) Methodist.
(d) Baptist.

5. What does the landlady say the mayor gave her?
(a) A stove.
(b) Carpet.
(c) Flowers.
(d) An award.

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

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

8. After completing her first draft of the story, what does the woman realize about it?
(a) She understands more about herself and her life now that she has written it.
(b) She cannot remember why she wanted to write it in the first place.
(c) She is losing touch with her passion as a writer.
(d) She is afraid that the content of the story will upset her friend.

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

10. 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)?
(a) She is unclear about how she feels about the man.
(b) The man will be angry that she wrote about him.
(c) This might not be the right time to tell his story.
(d) There is no real resolution to his story.

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

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

13. 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) Parallelism.
(b) Non sequitur.
(c) Juxtaposition.
(d) Analogy.

14. What specific Biblical story does the writer focus on?
(a) The Garden of Eden.
(b) The Trials of Job.
(c) Noah's Ark.
(d) Jonah and the Great Fish.

15. What does the narrator say "usually promises to be interesting" (19)?
(a) A hurricane.
(b) A religious crisis.
(c) A death.
(d) A flood.

Short Answer Questions

1. Why are rams' horns being blown all around the city?

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

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

4. What detail does the story give about the shape of the tape on the windows?

5. What does the woman think might be preventing her from committing to a center for her story?

(see the answer keys)

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