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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 is Jerome's suggestion for putting the Baudelaires' mind at ease?

2. What does Violet hope the new guardians will have for her when she gets to the apartment?

3. Toward the end of chapter two, what does Esme find out from a phone call is suddenly "in."

4. Jerome finds Klaus a bedroom he thinks will fit his interests, but what's wrong with it?

5. According to the narrator, what is an alternative meaning of 'mixed bag"?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does the atmosphere on Dark Avenue mirror the orphans' feelings in Chapter 1?

2. What is the significance of the Hansel and Gretel fairy tale to the Baudelaire's search for Gunther in the penthouse?

3. Why does Esme reject her husband's idea to give the In Auction money to a good cause?

4. Why do the Baudelaire children feel they sound "hopelessly spoiled" when discussing how disappointed they are with their pinstripe suit gifts from Esme?

5. What role does the scene at Café Salmonella play in the overall plot of the story?

6. What is ironic about Sunny saying "Hansel" and "Gretel" when the children are trying to come up with a way to search the penthouse and not get lost?

7. What is the importance of the Baudelaire orphans' new guardians being named Squalor?

8. What does the narrator mean when he states "...like caramel candy, strawberry yogurt, and liquid carpet cleaner, if you eat too much of it you are not going to enjoy your meal"?

9. Why does Esme act strangely when Klaus asks her if Gunther took the elevator down from the penthouse?

10. What is the significance of the trees that once made Dark Avenue "dark" being cut down once "light" is in?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What is the genre of "The Ersatz Elevator"? Use examples from the text to support your answer.

Essay Topic 2

How has political correctness changed the face of our society? Examine examples of political correctness gone array (such as the Squalors' reaction to Gunther's accent). Explain how their fear of breaking the social bonds of political correctness prevents the adults from seeing past an otherwise ridiculous disguise. Use examples from the text to justify your position.

Essay Topic 3

What is the importance of the Baudelaire's parents' deaths? How does this event develop the orphans' characters? Use examples from the text to support your answer.

(see the answer keys)

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