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. How many years apart are Miss Coulson's and Mrs. Widdup's ages?

2. When "May holds up a chiding finger," (332), what is May's intention?

3. What does the narrator warn the reader to "never trust" (333)?

4. When Mr. Coulson is irritated, he complains that no one in the house does what?

5. What is implied by the number of days for which Miss Coulson orders extra ice?

Short Essay Questions

1. Explain the significance of the diction "foxy" to describe Mrs. Widdup (333).

2. When Mr. Coulson comments that the spring weather is "lovely," his daughter replies "That's just it" (334). What does she mean by her reply?

3. What happens overnight that changes Mrs. Widdup and Mr. Coulson's fate?

4. How do words like "yaller" and "lawsy" in Mrs. Widdup's dialogue characterize her?

5. What is the rhetorical purpose of the allusions to Puck and Circe?

6. How does O. Henry use verbal misunderstandings to characterize Mrs. Widdup when she first appears in Mr. Coulson's room?

7. How does O. Henry characterize the month of May?

8. What rhetorical purposes does O. Henry accomplish with his introduction of Mr. Coulson through a list of things that he "has," like gout, money, and a daughter?

9. In the passage where Miss Coulson stares out the window, the reader is told "The chirp of the sparrows gave her a pain. She mocked at May" (334). To what earlier passage is this a reference, and what is the significance of the reference?

10. What is the significance of the sound of the overturned chair after Mr. Coulson confesses his feelings to Mrs. Widdup?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Make and defend a claim about the purpose of O. Henry's allusions in "The Marry Month of May." Use both paraphrased and quoted textual evidence to support your claim.

Essay Topic 2

Write an essay in which you explore the beliefs about marriage revealed in "The Marry Month of May." Give textual support for your claims.

Essay Topic 3

Make and defend a claim about O. Henry's "The Marry Month of May" as an example of American Naturalism. Support your ideas with evidence from the text; if you use outside sources, be sure to cite them in MLA format.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,013 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample