View a FREE sample

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 image of the west wall meant to allude to?

2. During the fire, what does Bradbury compare the house's dialogue to?

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

4. The line "And swallows circling with their shimmering sound" is an example of which technique?

5. What is thematically important about the cause of the fire in the kitchen?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

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

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

5. Explain the significance of the nursery decor.

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

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 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.

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

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Bradbury chooses Picasso and Matisse paintings to stand in for the idea of human cultural achievement. In what way does this choice reveal something about Bradbury's background? Write a two-paragraph essay in which you explore both Bradbury's choice and how alternate choices might more fully speak of "human cultural achievement."

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

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.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,068 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample