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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 does the narrator initially want to do with a rope?

2. How does the narrator describe the wallpaper’s smell?

3. When the narrator makes the plan to get off the wallpaper before John notices, how long do they have left at the house?

4. Who does the narrator say is her one comfort?

5. What does the narrator say she watches always?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does the narrator say John feels about intangible things?

2. What does the fact that the narrator says John “pretended to be living and kind” suggest about the narrator’s condition?

3. Why does John refuse to repaper the nursery after initially agreeing?

4. What are some indications that the narrator is, in fact, not getting better?

5. What description is horrifying about the wallpaper?

6. What does John’s action after seeing his wife creeping around the room suggest about John?

7. What is the “smooch” on the wall?

8. Why is the narrator afraid of being sent to Weir Mitchell?

9. How is the narrator similar to the figure she sees in the paper?

10. Why does the narrator feel bad for the woman in the wallpaper?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Describe John’s character. Does he change? Is John a round or flat character? Static or dynamic?

Essay Topic 2

A rest-cure was often prescribed for a variety of mental illnesses in the 1800’s. Why does the narrator believe that something to keep her mind busy is actually better for her than following her husband’s prescription when he is a physician?

Essay Topic 3

Throughout the story, John’s names for the narrator become more and more patronizing and child-like. Was the narrator becoming more childlike in her actions, or was John just being patronizing? What effect does this have on the narrator?

(see the answer keys)

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