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This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Why does Miss Strangeworth refer to the Cranes' baby as "her highness" (421)?
(a) Helen Crane has referred to her as a "princess."
(b) The Cranes are from an even older and more important family than Miss Strangeworth's.
(c) She is making fun of the possibility that the baby has some kind of developmental problem.
(d) She is trying to make Helen feel better about the baby's problems.

2. Miss Strangeworth thinks that people everywhere are "degraded" (425). What does this mean that she thinks about people?
(a) They have fallen below the standards of moral, civilized life.
(b) They can be ranked according to how good or bad they are.
(c) They are easily led into evil actions.
(d) They try to sneak around and do bad things without getting caught.

3. What business did Miss Strangeworth's grandfather run?
(a) A tailor shop.
(b) A shipping company.
(c) A dairy farm.
(d) A lumber mill.

4. According to the narrator, how do the townspeople feel about Miss Strangeworth and her house and her roses?
(a) Irritated.
(b) Amused.
(c) Jealous.
(d) Proud.

5. Miss Strangeworth thinks that children mocking her would be "reprehensible" (426). What would their mocking be, in her opinion?
(a) Puzzling.
(b) Predictable.
(c) Deserving of strong criticism or blame.
(d) Embarrassing to a social superior.

6. Why does Linda Stewart refuse to tell Dave Harris what was in the letter to her parents?
(a) She is embarrassed and horrified about what it said.
(b) She is afraid that Dave will end their relationship if he knows the truth.
(c) She knows that he will become very angry if she tells him what is being said about him.
(d) She is worried that part of the letter might be true.

7. Miss Strangeworth thinks about the Cranes "indulgently" (421). How does she think about them?
(a) In the forgiving but irritated way that an adult looks at a misbehaving child.
(b) In the surprised way that an adult looks at a child that has done something strange.
(c) With the scorn that people show towards those who eat, drink, or do other things to excess.
(d) With the kindness that a person shows to someone who needs a little extra generosity or lenience.

8. Who is the author of "The Possibility of Evil"?
(a) Flannery O'Connor.
(b) Henry James.
(c) Shirley Jackson.
(d) Katherine Anne Porter.

9. What color paper does Miss Strangeworth choose for the note to Don Crane about his baby daughter?
(a) Green.
(b) Yellow.
(c) Blue.
(d) Pink.

10. When Linda says "Catch old lady Strangeworth sending anybody a check," (427), what is she implying?
(a) Miss Strangeworth is not generous.
(b) Miss Strangeworth is getting absentminded.
(c) Miss Strangeworth is cruel.
(d) Miss Strangeworth is weird.

11. What does Helen Crane say she is worried that her daughter should be doing more?
(a) Trying to move around.
(b) Eating.
(c) Looking around at the world.
(d) Babbling and making speech sounds.

12. Why did Miss Strangeworth stop calling Tommy Lewis "Tommy" and start calling him "Mr. Lewis"?
(a) They had a terrible fight in high school.
(b) He asked her to marry him and then broke off their engagement.
(c) She thinks that his status as a grocer is beneath her.
(d) It was not usual for adults in this time to use one another's first names.

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

14. When Miss Strangeworth discovers how much trouble she has caused for Linda and Dave, what does she think about it?
(a) She is delighted to know how much pain she has caused.
(b) She thinks about how even in a small town, there are many evil people.
(c) She feels guilty and ashamed.
(d) She wonders if it can really be true that her letter has had such serious consequences.

15. When Miss Strangeworth looks out the window after the story ends, what will she see?
(a) That her roses have been destroyed.
(b) That the front of her house has been vandalized.
(c) That the police are waiting to arrest her.
(d) That her neighbors are waiting to get answers from her.

Short Answer Questions

1. Which one of her neighbors does Miss Strangeworth chat with while she is checking out at the grocery store?

2. How old is Miss Strangeworth?

3. On what street does Miss Strangeworth live?

4. What is the purpose of including the details about how many people Miss Strangeworth talks to on her trip to the grocery store?

5. What does Miss Strangeworth seem to think her family's place in the world is?

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