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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What did Vicente do when he was drafted for the army?

2. How long has it been since Ruth has seen her daughter in "The Expensive Moment"?

3. What does the woman ask Mr. Zagrowsky at the start of "Zagrowsky Tells"?

4. Why does the narrator question her husband's story about his lover, Dotty Wasserman?

5. What did the child do to upset her father in "Anxiety"?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Jack suspect is the real reason Faith wants a baby in "Listening"?

2. What does Jack say could happen if they have a baby as the narrator suggests in "The Story Hearer"?

3. How does Faith's family react when she tells them of her stay with Mrs. Luddy in "The Long-Distance Runner"?

4. Who is Sonia in "In This Country: But in Another Language..."? Why is the grandmother worried about ther?

5. Why does Jack think his father was sleeping in a crib when he was young? Why does the narrator think he was doing this?

6. What conclusion does George come to after his pinball machine is rejected in "This Is a Story About My Friend George"?

7. Why is the birth in "At That Time, or The History of a Joke" said to be a miracle?

8. Describe the progression of the man's relationship with his female neighbor in "The Burdened Man."

9. Who is Philip In "Dreamer in A Dead Language"? Why does he want to meet Faith's father?

10. What does the narrator in "Mother" long for?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write an essay exploring the relationships between men and women in Paley's collection.

Essay Topic 2

Examine how the theme of gender plays a part in the plot of the stories in the collection.

Essay Topic 3

Write an essay exploring the theme of motherhood in Paley's collection.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 740 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample