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 word from the story refers to a requital according to merits or deserts?

2. How does the princess feel about the lady of the court that awaits the courtier behind one door in the arena?

3. What word from the story means to go before something else?

4. How does the narrator describe the fate of the accused person if he found himself innocent in the arena?

5. Of the citizenry, the narrator says in Part 3, "they never knew whether they were to witness a bloody slaughter or" what?

Short Essay Questions

1. Discuss the word "fairness" as it is applied in the story. What does this word mean in the narrative?

2. How does the narrator "set the scene" on the day of the courtier's trial?

3. How do the king's subjects feel about the system enacted at the king's arena?

4. What are the positive aspects of the king's decision to put the courtier to trial?

5. What is described as standing behind the second door in the narrator's hypothetical trial in Part 3?

6. What does the lady behind the door symbolize in the story?

7. How does the narrator describe the king's method of administering justice in Part 3?

8. How is the princess described when her character is introduced in Part 4 of the story?

9. What is the crime that the courtier is charged with?

10. What does the priest in the story represent symbolically?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Describe the doors of the arena. What is behind each door that the accused must choose from? How does the narrator describe the appearance of the doors? Where in the arena are the doors located?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the theme of betrayal in the story. What betrayals take place in the course of the narrative? What POSSIBLE betrayals are described? How does the author support this theme through symbolism, imagery, character, and setting?

Essay Topic 3

Analyze and discuss the role of the tiger in "The Lady, or the Tiger?" How is the tiger chosen? Where is the tiger held in the arena? What do you think the tiger represents symbolically or metaphorically in the story? Why?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 810 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample