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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. In the story "Mrs. Hofstadter on Josephine Street," what are the narrator and her husband looking for in a servant?

2. What emotion does the narrator of "Temps Perdu" feel when she sees a laurel tree in May?

3. How does Mrs. Murdock feel about her dress as she leaves her visit with Miss Noyes and Lily Wynton?

4. What has become a "bitterness" for the narrator if "Iseult of Brittany"?

5. Among the "Tombstones in the Starlight," whom does "The Very Rich Man" now entertain?

Short Essay Questions

1. Explain the allusions in the poem "Prayer for a New Mother."

2. In the short story "The Last Tea," why does the girl brag about the evening that she had the night before?

3. In "Glory in the Daytime," how does Mrs. Murdock's visit with Lily Wynton change her perspective on her own life?

4. What kind of advice do the poems "Prologue to a Saga" and "The Lady's Reward" give to women?

5. Explain the irony in "Ninon de Lenclos, On Her Last Birthday."

6. What story is told through the poem "There Was One"?

7. How does the narrator of "Lady With a Lamp" make Mona feel worse rather than better?

8. Explain the allusions in the poem "Guinevere At Her Fireside."

9. What explains Miss Wilmarth's "curious expression" in the short story "Horsie"?

10. What is the cause of Mr. and Mrs. Weldon's divorce in the short story "Too Bad"?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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 2

In many of Dorothy Parker's stories, relationships become strained because the characters do not speak honestly to one another. Instead, one character will say whatever he/she thinks the other wants to hear, or characters will skirt around a subject all together. Examine how this kind of dishonesty affects relationships in Parker's short stories. Be sure to include specific examples and quotations to support your observations.

Essay Topic 3

Examine the influence that Dorothy Parker's socialist perspective has on her writing, in particular her later writing. Be sure to include specific examples and quotations from several different pieces in order to support your points.

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