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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 Bradbury compare the chemical fire-fighting foam to?

2. When the story ends, what is left standing?

3. Just before the house collapses, what does it do?

4. Bradbury mentions that martinis "manifested" on tables. What did the martinis do?

5. What causes the house to temporarily "give up" as the fire spreads?

Short Essay Questions

1. Explain the inclusion of the Sara Teasdale poem in this story.

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

3. What are the poses of the people in their silhouettes on the side of the house, and why are they important to notice?

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

5. Explain the significance of the nursery decor.

6. Explain the purpose of the story's allusion to Longfellow's poem "The Children's Hour."

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

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

9. What is the difference between the focus of Teasdale's poem and the focus of Bradbury's short story?

10. 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.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Choose a piece of science fiction--a short story, novel, comic book, video game (that has a developed plot and characters), television show, etc. Think carefully about what messages this work is trying to send--not only about the future, but about the present. In two paragraphs, explain one message about the future and one message about the past, supporting your claims with textual details.

Essay Topic 2

Choose a symbol in "There Will Come Soft Rains" and explain how the symbol is employed. That is, how is it developed, what is its significance, and how does this help convey meaning?

Essay Topic 3

Read and then write an analysis of "What the Dead Man Said" by Chinelo Onwualu (available online). Your thesis should make a claim about the story's theme, and the rest of your essay should defend that claim.

(see the answer keys)

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