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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. In the sentence "The morning house lay empty," there is an example of which technique?

2. When the windows break and the wind makes the fire grow and spread, which thematic motif is reinforced?

3. What is the name of the family that owned the house?

4. "The house tried to save itself" is an example of which technique?

5. What is the first thing that the voice-clock announces?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. Explain what evidence there is that the house deliberately causes the dog's death.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The nursery in "There Will Come Soft Rains" in some ways functions as what philosophers call a "simulacrum." A simulacrum mimics some aspect of the world in a way that people accept so fully that in many ways it comes to replace that aspect of the world. The Epcot Center at Disney World is an often-cited example: many people feel that if they have been to one of the "country" pavilions there, they do not need to actually travel to the real country, because the Disney experience is as good as or better than the "real thing." Choose something in our world that you believe to be a simulacrum and defend your claim.

Essay Topic 2

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.

Essay Topic 3

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?

(see the answer keys)

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