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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. From two thirty-five to four o'clock, what can readers infer that the family would ordinarily be doing?

2. What happens to the dog when it cannot get into the kitchen?

3. What is the house compared to as it burns to the ground?

4. What is the image of the west wall meant to allude to?

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

Short Essay Questions

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

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

3. What is the intended effect of juxtaposing the images of the silhouettes with the description of the house's continued paranoia about intruders?

4. Explain the significance of the nursery decor.

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

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

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

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

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Look up "The McClellan Family Townhome" from Fallout. Once you are familiar with what Fallout is and with this location within the game, write an essay that explains how the details of the Townhome correspond with things described in "There Will Come Soft Rains" and how this is intended to be humorous. Then, give your opinion about whether it actually is funny, and why.

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

Go online and find the background story and text of Carlos Ruiz Zafón's "Two-Minute Apocalypse." Write an essay that explains the message about life contained in this piece of flash fiction and then compare or contrast this message to the theme of "There Will Come Soft Rains."

(see the answer keys)

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