View a FREE sample

This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What technique is evident in the phrase "feverish plucking and twanging, tom-toms, congas, and gongs" (235)?
(a) Euphony.
(b) Double entendre.
(c) Cacophony.
(d) Hyperbaton.

2. When the narrator unbuttons the second button on Gin's shirt, what does he see?
(a) A bruise.
(b) Her cross.
(c) Her camisole.
(d) A scar.

3. What technique is used in the phrase "the forlorn, deflated Trojan" (238)?
(a) Simile.
(b) Hyperbole.
(c) Personification.
(d) Onomatopoeia.

4. In Gin's dream about the beach, why has the narrator left her alone?
(a) They have had a big fight.
(b) He has gone to get some mustard.
(c) He is trying to help find a lost child.
(d) After they have sex, he loses interest in her.

5. What technique is employed in the phrase "and justice for all" (234)?
(a) Allusion.
(b) Litotes.
(c) Verbal irony.
(d) Metaphor.

6. How has the narrator and Gin's relationship changed by the end of the summer?
(a) They argue constantly about trivial things.
(b) The narrator has begun to notice other girls in his neighborhood.
(c) Gin is not comfortable being alone with the narrator.
(d) Gin cries whenever the narrator tries to kiss her.

7. When the police examine the woman's body in the light of their flashlights, what does her nakedness and obvious pregnancy cause them to do?
(a) Cross themselves and say a prayer.
(b) Remove their hats and bow their heads.
(c) Tell the narrator and Gin to move back.
(d) Look at Gin uncomfortably.

8. In the simile that the narrator uses when he describes holding Gin's breasts in his hands on page 234, to what does he compare her breasts?
(a) Water.
(b) Fruit.
(c) Cups.
(d) A garden.

9. Who asks the narrator and Gin questions as they try to leave the beach?
(a) The ambulance attendant.
(b) Curious onlookers.
(c) The police officer with a beer belly.
(d) The police officer with the crew cut.

10. What detail on page 233 reveals that some time has passed since the events of the story took place?
(a) The characters visiting "Oak Street Beach."
(b) The "now defunct Clark Theater."
(c) The "lilac bushes in Marquette Park."
(d) Gin saying that she feels "like Doris Day" is watching her.

11. In the story's opening, what details are related to the characters' social circumstances?
(a) Light and darkness.
(b) Grass, leaves, and snow.
(c) The condition of the Rambler and the rosary.
(d) Gin's bed and their parents' cars.

12. What is the narrator's tone when he recalls, "I was trying to calm your terror with reassuring phrases such as 'Holy shit! I don’t fucking believe this!'” (236)?
(a) Ironic.
(b) Acerbic.
(c) Bemused.
(d) Fatalistic.

13. To what does the narrator compare Gin's mother's rosary?
(a) A noose.
(b) A bolo tie.
(c) A snake.
(d) A belt.

14. What technique is used in the sentence "On my fingers your slick scent mixed with the coconut musk of the suntan lotion we’d repeatedly smeared over each other's bodies" (234) ?
(a) Personification.
(b) Allusion.
(c) Metonymy.
(d) Imagery.

15. In the story's opening, what details are related to the passage of time?
(a) Light and darkness.
(b) The condition of the Rambler and the rosary.
(c) Gin's bed and their parents' cars.
(d) Grass, leaves, and snow.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does Gin mean when she tells the narrator that she knows the dead woman?

2. What is the title of the poem used as an epigraph for this story?

3. On the night when he realizes that their relationship is over, what does the narrator realize he really wants from Gin?

4. What is the rhetorical purpose of including the detail "the skinny rails of your legs" (235) when the narrator is talking about taking off Gin's bikini bottom?

5. What is the detail about how long the narrator has been carrying a condom in his pocket meant to convey?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 691 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample