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

2. What can be seen on the house's west wall?

3. Who is the author of the poem that the house reads after dinner?

4. Why does the dog want to get into the kitchen so badly?

5. At one point, Bradbury says that the house has a "preoccupation" with self-protection. What must be true about the house?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

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

4. What are the poses of the people in their silhouettes on the side of the house, and why are they important to notice?

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

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

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

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

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

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Bradbury uses details in his story that create a portrait of a comfortable, middle-class family of the mid-twentieth century. Bridge, cigars, egg-salad, martinis, and surprisingly large breakfasts all help create this picture. Of course, these details are less relevant to today's audience. If you were rewriting "There Will Come Soft Rains" for today's audiences and wanted to include details that would immediately tell the reader "This is a middle-class family that likes its creature comforts," what details would you include, and why?

Essay Topic 2

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 3

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?

(see the answer keys)

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