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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 implied about Miss Coulson when she looks at the flowers "with the eye of a botanist" (334)?
2. When the narrator lists the kinds of inappropriate relationships that May encourages, one of the items in the list is "old chaps" who dress up and "parade in front of the Normal School" (332). Who are these old men trying to impress with their fancy clothing?
3. Why is Mr. Coulson so clumsy on the afternoon after the ice is delivered?
4. The narrator says,"Pixies and flibbertigibbits haunt the budding woods" (332). What is in the woods?
5. What does the narrator warn the reader to "never trust" (333)?
Short Essay Questions
1. 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?
2. When rhetorical purposes are served by the passage where the narrator says that the scent of flowers was carried in through the window and "fought" with the scent of Mr. Coulson's gout medicine?
3. How do words like "yaller" and "lawsy" in Mrs. Widdup's dialogue characterize her?
4. What is Miss Coulson's plan to head off her father's budding romance?
5. What is the thematic significance of the olfactory image of the city in springtime?
6. 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?
7. 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?
8. When Mr. Coulson finally confesses his feelings to Mrs. Widdup, what drawback to himself does he acknowledge, and what advantage does he say balances this drawback out?
9. What is the rhetorical purpose of the allusions to Puck and Circe?
10. What happens when Mrs. Widdup makes an excuse to go into Mr. Coulson's room to speak with him after the ice is delivered?
Essay Topics
Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:
Essay Topic 1
Write an essay that makes and defends a thesis about the significance of social class in "The Marry Month of May." Be sure to offer textual support for your claims.
Essay Topic 2
Write an essay that makes and defends a claim about the narrative voice of "The Marry Month of May." Use both paraphrased and quoted textual evidence to support your claim.
Essay Topic 3
Write an essay that affirms, refutes, or qualifies the statement "The twist ending in "The Marry Month of May" is an 'unearned' twist, because it is not plausible given the story that leads up to it." Use textual evidence to support your claim.
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This section contains 1,149 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) |
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