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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 is the name of the family that owned the house?
2. Who does the story imply is still alive in the city?
3. What "delicacies" does the fire consume upstairs?
4. What has happened to the city around the house?
5. The line "And swallows circling with their shimmering sound" is an example of which technique?
Short Essay Questions
1. In what way is the house's "speech" like nursery rhymes, and what is the purpose of this choice?
2. What are the poses of the people in their silhouettes on the side of the house, and why are they important to notice?
3. How does Bradbury use the dates on which the story takes place as a form of foreshadowing?
4. Explain what evidence there is that the house deliberately causes the dog's death.
5. The garbage disposal in the kitchen is referred to as a "metal throat." What techniques are at use here, and what is their purpose?
6. What is ironic about Bradbury's use of rain in this story?
7. Explain what is ironic about the rain in the nursery scenery.
8. What is the meaning of the silhouettes on the side of the house?
9. What is the difference between the focus of Teasdale's poem and the focus of Bradbury's short story?
10. Explain the allusion to Odysseus's dog and how it functions in the story.
Essay Topics
Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:
Essay Topic 1
The setting of the short story "There Will Come Soft Rains" is meant to be a middle-class home in a city near San Francisco, California. Most critics agree that Bradbury intended this to appeal to his audience as a sort of "universal" setting that would bring home to his audience that the devastating effects of nuclear war can happen very suddenly to anyone--not just soldiers, not just people in "other" countries. What is your opinion of this choice? Do you think that it accomplishes its intended purpose? Do you think that this purpose is worthwhile? Be sure to explain your reasoning.
Essay Topic 2
Analyze the use of irony in "There Will Come Soft Rains." Explain both how irony is created and what purpose it serves in conveying meaning.
Essay Topic 3
Explain which details in "There Will Come Soft Rains" are explicitly taken from the history surrounding the dropping of the atom bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Offer a thesis about what these details are meant to accomplish and argue whether this is a successful strategy.
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This section contains 1,101 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) |
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