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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. To what does Merricat liken Charles's scream in Chapter 8?

2. What blocks the kitchen door when Constance and Merricat return home?

3. What does Merricat find against a bush in Chapter 9?

4. Why hasn't Merricat buried anything around the summerhouse?

5. What does Julian say happened to Merricat at the orphanage?

Short Essay Questions

1. What finally gets the villagers to leave the Blackwoods' property?

2. What act commences the villagers' attack on the Blackwoods' house?

3. In Chapter 7, what does Merricat decide to do on Thursday? What is special about Thursdays?

4. What does Merricat imagine at the end of Chapter 7?

5. In Chapter 6, how does Merricat describe the way Charles has taken over her house?

6. What does Charles say he wants to go through in Chapter 6? How does Julian react?

7. Faced with a ruined home, what do Constance and Merricat decide to do?

8. What mistakes does Constance say she has made in Chapter 6?

9. What do Merricat and Constance say to each other when they are safe at Merricat's hiding place?

10. What does Charles discover hidden in Chapter 7? How does Merricat think he found it?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss the motif of fear in "We Have Always Lived in the Castle." What are some examples of fear in the novel? What is Merricat fearful of and why? What are other characters fearful of and why?

Essay Topic 2

Analyze and interpret Jackson's use of ambiguity. What are some examples of ambiguity in the novel? What might the meaning be behind these examples of ambiguity?

Essay Topic 3

Analyze and interpret the character Constance. What are her defining character traits? What is her role in the story? How is she related to the protagonist? Is she an important character?

(see the answer keys)

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