View a FREE sample

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

Short Answer Questions

1. What does Sunny suggest they do to escape from the elevator shaft?

2. What does Klaus realize about the elevators in the apartment building and the penthouse?

3. Who do the Baudelaires tell about the V.F.D. after their discovery in the In Auction catalog?

4. What rains down on the children from the ceiling?

5. What is disconcerting about Esme's behavior after they exit the penthouse apartment?

Short Essay Questions

1. How are Count Olaf and Esme Squalor alike?

2. How does Klaus convince Jerome to help them find the Quagmires without him knowing?

3. What is the importance of the doorman winning the big, red scarlet fish statue?

4. The gentleman at the Baudelaire mansion fire claims that the site is haunted. What is the significance of him calling the Baudelaire ghosts?

5. During the Baudelaires' climb back up to the penthouse, they are encased in darkness. What is symbolic about their climb in the shadowy dark?

6. What is odd about the doorman making bids at the In Auction?

7. What is symbolic about Klaus's declaration that they had reached a "dead end" at the end of the passageway?

8. Why is moving down the ersatz rope more difficult the second time for the Baudelaires?

9. In what ways are the Baudelaire children's skills handy and useful in Chapter 7?

10. What happens to Sunny's character during Chapter 10?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

How is irony used throughout the novel? Cite different examples of irony and describe whether the use of irony is effective (or not effective) to the overall storyline. Use examples from the text to support your answer.

Essay Topic 2

The theme of what's in and out is prevalent throughout the novel. Select three of the major characters and explain how they experience the effects of in and out and acceptance. Use examples from the text to support your answer.

Essay Topic 3

The author uses idioms throughout the novel via the narrator. What purpose does the use of idioms serve to the overall storyline of "The Ersatz Elevator"? Use examples from the text to support your answer.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,093 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample