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This quiz consists of 5 multiple choice and 5 short answer questions through Section 1: "The Possibility of Evil".

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What does Miss Strangeworth tell Helen Crane about her worries?
(a) All babies develop differently.
(b) They are just another example of the anxieties Helen has always had.
(c) She should talk with her baby's doctor.
(d) She should talk with her husband.

2. What do people in town assume it means when someone writes on blue paper?
(a) They are almost out of paper.
(b) They are trying to show off.
(c) They are irritated at the person they are writing to.
(d) They could not afford the more expensive cream-colored paper.

3. What word is repeatedly used to describe the day on which the story opens?
(a) "Lovely."
(b) "Summery."
(c) "Mild."
(d) "Golden."

4. Why does Miss Strangeworth feel so certain that the children in front of the post office will be respectful toward her?
(a) She thinks that they would not dare to make fun of someone as important as her.
(b) She knows that the children of the town have all be raised to respect older people.
(c) She has been a good friend to their families and knows most of them by name.
(d) She thinks that there is nothing about her that a person could possibly make fun of.

5. What does Miss Strangeworth seem to think her family's place in the world is?
(a) To keep an eye on everyone else and hold them to a high moral standard.
(b) To provide an example of kindness and concern for others.
(c) To stay isolated from the wickedness of the world.
(d) To counsel others and help them understand how to live a happy and ethical life.

Short Answer Questions

1. What literary technique is used when Miss Strangeworth asks Helen if she has upset her husband by pointing out that the baby is " six months old and hasn't yet begun to learn to dance"?

2. Miss Strangeworth thinks about the Cranes "indulgently" (421). How does she think about them?

3. What causes Miss Strangeworth to say that the Cranes' baby will expect luxury all of her life?

4. Who is Ethan Allen?

5. Why does Miss Strangeworth fail to notice the important detail about her letters?

(see the answer key)

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