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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 historical event is alluded to with the date given in the beginning of the story?

2. What does Bradbury say is like "an altar with ten-thousand attendants"?

3. Who is Baal?

4. To what does Bradbury compare folding tables?

5. Which room recreates the sights, sounds, and smells of the African savanna?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

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

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

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

6. Explain the significance of the nursery decor.

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

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

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

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Choose a device that Bradbury uses to convey meaning in "There Will Come Soft Rains." You might choose personification, allusion, imagery, diction, repetition, or any other device that you wish to write about--but remember that you need to connect its use to the overall meaning of the story.

Essay Topic 2

Analyze how Bradbury uses structure to convey meaning in "There Will Come Soft Rains." Explain what the structure is, how it is created, and how this helps advance a particular message.

Essay Topic 3

Despite the comforts of the McClellan house, some of the details included evoke not comfort but something more sinister. Why are there mechanical rats and roaches in the house? Why is the fire extinguishing foam referred to as "snakes"? What does this imagery have to do with the simulated natural beauty of the nursery and the incinerator lurking in the basement shadows like "Baal"?

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