View a FREE sample

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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Why do the robot mice come out when they do?
(a) There is food spilled near the table.
(b) They mistake the noise of the rain for an intruder.
(c) They are looking for the family.
(d) They are programmed to come out at nine-fifteen.

2. What is the house compared to as it burns to the ground?
(a) A cigar.
(b) A bonfire.
(c) A skeleton.
(d) A bomb.

3. During the fire, what does Bradbury compare the house's dialogue to?
(a) A person's last words.
(b) The epilogue of a play.
(c) A nursery rhyme.
(d) The poem "There Will Come Soft Rains."

4. What does Bradbury compare to Baal?
(a) The incinerator.
(b) The stove.
(c) The dog.
(d) The house.

5. What does the garage do when no one drives the car away?
(a) Starts the car remotely.
(b) Uses the car horn to alert the family.
(c) Waits and then closes again.
(d) Announces again that it is time to go to work and to school.

Short Answer Questions

1. What is the reaction of nature to the end of human existence in the poem "There Will Come Soft Rains"?

2. Who is the author of the poem that the house reads after dinner?

3. What is the probable purpose of emphasizing the roundness of the smoke plume and the great quantity of smoke?

4. Which is the best summary of how the poem "There Will Come Soft Rains" compares to the short story of the same name?

5. To what famous dog is this dog an allusion?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. What is the purpose of ending the story with the house fire? Why not just end it with the reading of the Teasdale poem?

3. Explain the significance of the nursery decor.

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

5. How do the cleaning mice allude to Cinderella, and what is the purpose of this allusion?

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

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

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

10. What is ironic about Bradbury's use of rain in this story?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,073 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample