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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

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

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

3. What detail in the description of the man indicates how ill he feels?
(a) The way his ribs protrude.
(b) The sounds he is making.
(c) The color of his face.
(d) The smell coming from his skin.

4. What technique is used in the phrase "the stink of burning hair, fur, and horn" (19)?
(a) Synesthesia.
(b) Onomatopoeia.
(c) Imagery.
(d) Assonance.

5. Why does the man in the story feel so ill?
(a) He has cancer.
(b) He is having a heart attack.
(c) He has food poisoning.
(d) He has the flu.

Short Answer Questions

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

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

3. What color is the light in the man's bedroom?

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

5. What detail in the description of the man's bedroom indicates how close the hurricane is getting?

Short Essay Questions

1. Explain what the "yellow pall" is and what things in Davis's story it is attached to.

2. What contradiction does Davis's first sentence introduce?

3. When the woman is riding the train, after the hurricane has passed, what two realizations does she come to?

4. What paradox related to religion does the woman encounter in writing her story?

5. What did the woman originally begin her story with that she later decides to edit out?

6. What is the woman's story about, and what is its major flaw?

7. What arguments for and against including the newscasters in her story does the woman entertain?

8. Why does the man in the main character's story think that he is dying, and what does he do about it?

9. What happens when the woman visits a Baptist church?

10. Who are the people in the story that the writer is working on?

(see the answer keys)

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