Print
Word
PDF
|
| Name: _________________________ | Period: ___________________ |
This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.
Short Answer Questions
1. Why do the robot mice come out when they do?
2. What is the likely purpose of inserting the house's "dialogue" ("Help, help! Fire! Run, run!") into the scene that describes the fire consuming the house?
3. During the fire, what does Bradbury compare the house's dialogue to?
4. What is the reaction of nature to the end of human existence in the poem "There Will Come Soft Rains"?
5. Who does the story imply is still alive in the city?
Short Essay Questions
1. Explain the significance of the nursery decor.
2. Explain what is ironic about the rain in the nursery scenery.
3. Explain the purpose of the story's allusion to Longfellow's poem "The Children's Hour."
4. Explain the allusion to Odysseus's dog and how it functions in the story.
5. Describe the image that ends the story and explain its significance.
6. What is ironic about Bradbury's use of rain in this story?
7. Explain the inclusion of the Sara Teasdale poem in this story.
8. The garbage disposal in the kitchen is referred to as a "metal throat." What techniques are at use here, and what is their purpose?
9. What is the likely purpose of including mechanical creatures such as rats and roaches?
10. What is the intended effect of juxtaposing the images of the silhouettes with the description of the house's continued paranoia about intruders?
Essay Topics
Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:
Essay Topic 1
Choose a piece of science fiction--a short story, novel, comic book, video game (that has a developed plot and characters), television show, etc. Think carefully about what messages this work is trying to send--not only about the future, but about the present. In two paragraphs, explain one message about the future and one message about the past, supporting your claims with textual details.
Essay Topic 2
Why, at the end of the story, does one voice calmly read poetry while around it the rest of the house is descending into chaos? What historic events might this allude to, and what effect does this detail have on a reader's understanding of the story?
Essay Topic 3
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.
|
This section contains 1,169 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) |
|
