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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. Why does the grandmother worry about Sonia?

2. What reminds the narrator of her mother standing in the doorway at the start of "Mother"?

3. What does Ruthy say she would do if she were a boy?

4. What does the narrator think the butcher really meant when he called her "young lady"(340) in "The Story Hearer"?

5. In "Anxiety," why does the narrator yell at a young father as he walks his child home from school?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is Dotty Wasserman's role in the story "Love"?

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

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

4. What instances of Mr. Zargrowsky's racism does Faith cite in "Zagrowsky Tells"?

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

6. What happens to Juniper in "Little Girl"?

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

8. What does Faith do at the end of the story after she and her father argue? Describe the mood.

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

10. Why is Lavinia's mother upset at the end of "Lavinia: An Old Story"?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Choose one story and write an essay examining the ending. How did the ending fit into the storyline? Do you think the ending was effective? What theme might the ending represent? What might the author have done differently?

Essay Topic 2

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

Essay Topic 3

Choose two characters and discuss their similarities and differences.

(see the answer keys)

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