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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What does the narrator see on the street when he is leaving Gin's building on the night of the beach incident?
(a) A condom.
(b) His underwear.
(c) Beach sand.
(d) Gin's blanket.

2. From the context of page 234, what "apocalypse" is the allusion to the Four Horsemen referring to?
(a) Global pandemic.
(b) Nuclear annihilation.
(c) Water scarcity.
(d) Climate change.

3. After the narrator drops Gin off at her building on the night of the incident at the beach, why does she run back outside and call after him?
(a) She want to know if he is going to tell anyone what happened.
(b) She needs to get her blanket back from him.
(c) She wants to tell him that she loves him.
(d) She wants to know if he needs an umbrella.

4. While he is on the beach, what does the narrator imagine the couples in the high-rises around them are wearing?
(a) Spa robes.
(b) Cocktail attire.
(c) Monogrammed pajamas.
(d) Business suits.

5. 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) Bemused.
(b) Fatalistic.
(c) Acerbic.
(d) Ironic.

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

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

8. 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) Look at Gin uncomfortably.
(b) Tell the narrator and Gin to move back.
(c) Cross themselves and say a prayer.
(d) Remove their hats and bow their heads.

9. To what does the narrator compare the other lovers on the beach?
(a) Fallen soldiers.
(b) Crash-test dummies.
(c) Sleeping dolls.
(d) Abandoned mannequins.

10. What does Gin mean when she tells the narrator that she knows the dead woman?
(a) The woman is a distant relative of Gin's.
(b) She dreams about the woman.
(c) The woman was from her neighborhood.
(d) The woman was not much older than Gin.

11. What is the title of the poem used as an epigraph for this story?
(a) "Water."
(b) "In Darkness and in Light."
(c) "The Mirror."
(d) "We Did It."

12. On page 234, which of the following terms does the narrator use to describe the sunset?
(a) "Restless rose."
(b) "Pink peace."
(c) "Panorama pink."
(d) "Rose rapture."

13. Gin mentions her "nonna's cottage" (240). Whose cottage is this?
(a) Her sister.
(b) Her aunt.
(c) Her grandmother.
(d) Her mother.

14. What characteristic of the area around the beach is conveyed with its nickname, the "Gold Coast"?
(a) It is beautiful.
(b) It is expensive.
(c) It is full of opportunity.
(d) It is similar to the Mediterranean.

15. What mood do the diction and details included in the scene where the police leave their cars and enter the water create?
(a) Factual.
(b) Frantic.
(c) Reverent.
(d) Inflammatory.

Short Answer Questions

1. To what British author does the narrator ironically compare himself near the end of the story?

2. What kind of buildings are on the lovers' lane?

3. Why does the narrator say that Lake Michigan "became" the Pacific Ocean (235)?

4. When the narrator unbuttons the second button on Gin's shirt, what does he see?

5. How has the narrator and Gin's relationship changed by the end of the summer?

(see the answer keys)

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