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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

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

2. The narrator says that Miss Strangeworth's letters "dealt with the more negotiable stuff of suspicion" (424). What is this saying about suspicion?
(a) It is a negative force in the lives of the people of the town.
(b) It is the kind of thing that people argue about.
(c) It is flexible in the way that facts are not.
(d) It is something that Miss Strangeworth feels more and more over time.

3. According to Miss Strangeworth, to whom should Helen apologize?
(a) Miss Strangeworth.
(b) The baby.
(c) Her mother.
(d) Her husband.

4. Miss Strangeworth stops to discuss an "appropriation" with Miss Chandler (422). What are they talking about?
(a) Money set aside for some purpose.
(b) A policy statement.
(c) Something that has been taken without permission.
(d) A meeting of an official organization or group.

5. What is implied about Miss Strangeworth's choice of the multicolored paper for her notes?
(a) She has less money than she pretends to and cannot afford to write so often on the expensive stationery.
(b) She does not think that her neighbors deserve her really nice stationery.
(c) She is trying to make sure that her letters blend in with all of the other letters and notes in town.
(d) She wishes that she were more accepted as a "regular person" in the town.

Short Answer Questions

1. What do the people in town decide is wrong with Linda Stewart after they realize that she has not had a fight with her boyfriend?

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

3. Why does Miss Strangeworth feel so certain that the children in front of the post office will be respectful toward her?

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

5. For how many years has Miss Strangeworth been writing her anonymous letters?

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe Miss Strangeworth's feelings about her roses.

2. Which writing utensils does Miss Strangeworth have available, and which one does she choose for her anonymous notes?

3. What does Miss Strangeworth write to Mrs. Foster about her upcoming surgery, and what is she implying?

4. What details does Jackson provide about the interior of Miss Strangeworth's house to show the pride the family has always taken in the house?

5. What evidence is there in the story that Miss Strangeworth is well-known and respected in the town?

6. What is ironic about Miss Strangeworth's thoughts as she notices that various townspeople seem distressed?

7. What is ironic about Miss Strangeworth's criticisms of Helen and Don Crane's parenting?

8. Describe the exterior of Miss Strangeworth's house.

9. What details in the story let the reader know that Miss Strangeworth herself does not believe some of the accusations she is making?

10. Describe the significance of the paper that Miss Strangeworth chooses for her anonymous notes.

(see the answer keys)

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