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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 color are Paul's eyes after the party?

2. Why does someone try to send Paul on a trip after Mother's birthday?

3. What answer does Mother get about Paul's last words?

4. How does Paul act during the big race?

5. Who does Mother ask about Paul's last words?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does Paul think he was able to predict all the horse winners?

2. What does Mother get for her birthday?

3. What happens after Paul tells Mother the winning name for the Derby?

4. What changes in Mother after she gets the birthday gift?

5. What happens at the Derby?

6. How does the book end?

7. What does Mother do when she begins getting worried about Paul?

8. How is Mother unlucky even after getting rich?

9. What is the first thing Mother does when she comes home from her party?

10. What does Mother say caused her family a lot of grief when she was younger?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

How does Paul die, and what led to his death?

Essay Topic 2

What role did money play in this short story, and do you agree with the message the author was trying to send through this inclusion of the theme of money?

Essay Topic 3

What do you think is the main moral of this story? Please support your answer with specific citations from the text.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 573 words (approx. 2 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample