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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 the windows break and the wind makes the fire grow and spread, which thematic motif is reinforced?
(a) Technology can be dangerous.
(b) The house is a part of nature.
(c) The house is evil.
(d) Nature and the house are in opposition.

2. At one point, Bradbury says that the house has a "preoccupation" with self-protection. What must be true about the house?
(a) It is constantly trying to protect itself.
(b) It is bored by the idea of protecting itself.
(c) It is willing to do terrible things to protect itself.
(d) It does not see a reason to try to protect itself.

3. Just before the house collapses, what does it do?
(a) It announces the wrong date and time.
(b) It dumps out all of the liquor, coffee, and milk in one last attempt to fight the fire.
(c) It shuts down entirely except for its "voice" function.
(d) It begins performing multiple functions over and over.

4. What does Bradbury say is like "an altar with ten-thousand attendants"?
(a) The house.
(b) The city.
(c) The yard.
(d) The incinerator.

5. What does Bradbury say that the house is angry about when the dog shows up?
(a) That the dog is probably contagious.
(b) The disturbance to its routine.
(c) Needing to clean up the mud from its feet.
(d) That the family is not with it.

Short Answer Questions

1. In which city does the story take place?

2. What is the job of the robot mice?

3. To what does the phrase "the children's hour" allude?

4. What does Bradbury compare the chemical fire-fighting foam to?

5. What is thematically important about the cause of the fire in the kitchen?

Short Essay Questions

1. Explain how the pun in the line "The morning house lay empty" explains why the house is empty and foreshadows the story's later revelation of the family's fate.

2. Describe the image that ends the story and explain its significance.

3. In what way is the house's "speech" like nursery rhymes, and what is the purpose of this choice?

4. Explain what is ironic about the rain in the nursery scenery.

5. What is suggested by the fact that the house repeats the date "three times for memory's sake"?

6. Explain the significance of the nursery decor.

7. Explain the allusion to Odysseus's dog and how it functions in the story.

8. The garbage disposal in the kitchen is referred to as a "metal throat." What techniques are at use here, and what is their purpose?

9. How does Bradbury use the dates on which the story takes place as a form of foreshadowing?

10. What is the meaning of the silhouettes on the side of the house?

(see the answer keys)

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