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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 the narrator's intent in the poem "Lullaby"?

2. For what trait is Mrs. Martindale known?

3. According to the poem "Indian Summer," how has the narrator changed since her youth?

4. How does Midge change the rules of their game at the end of "The Standard of Living"?

5. How does Mrs. Whittaker react to the news of her father's death?

Short Essay Questions

1. How are the poems "Somebody's Song," "Unfortunate Coincidence," and "Comment" similar?

2. Why does the woman in "The Waltz" agree to dance with the young man even though she does not want to?

3. In "The Standard of Living," why does Midge become so upset over Annabel's imaginary purchase of a silver fox coat, and what does her reaction suggest about her personality?

4. In the short story "A Telephone Call," how does the narrator rationalize her irrational behavior?

5. Describe the role of Mrs. Whittaker in the story "The Wonderful Old Gentleman."

6. In the short story, "The Wonderful Old Gentleman," what influence has the Old Gentleman had on the Bains' lives in the five years that he has lived with them?

7. How does the woman in "Arrangement in Black and White" characterize her husband?

8. In the story "Dusk Before Fireworks," why does Kit try to pretend that she is not bothered by the attention that other women pay to Hobie?

9. What do the poems "I Know I Have Been Happiest" and "I Shall Come Back" have in common?

10. What trouble does the man in "You Were Perfectly Fine" create when he lies about remembering the taxi ride?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Choose two characters from different short stories that seem to share similar traits and analyze their similarities and differences. How do these similarities influence their respective stories? What do these character's reveal about the author's attitude toward her topic? Be sure to include specific examples and quotations in order to support your observations.

Essay Topic 2

Some of Dorothy Parker's short stories follow a traditional story format of narrative and dialogue, while others rely simply on one-sided dialogue. Examine these two different approaches to storytelling and evaluate the effectiveness of each. What does Parker achieve by only giving one side of the conversation in some stories? Why might some stories require more complete description? How might the stories be different if she chose a different approach? Be sure to provide specific examples and quotations when appropriate.

Essay Topic 3

Examine Dorothy Parker's "Self Portrait" and her letters. What do these pieces reveal about her as a person? How do these revelations compare to the themes and characters that she writes about? Be sure to include specific examples and quotations to support these observations.

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