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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. Where does Merricat go when Charles leaves for the village?

2. What does Merricat tell Constance when she wakes up in Chapter 9?

3. What does Charles examine in the drawing room in Chapter 6?

4. What do the villagers do after the fire is out?

5. Why did Merricat choose to put the poison in the sugar?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. After the fire, what does Merricat say are her new safeguards? Why does she think she needs new ones?

3. In Chapter 6, what does Charles say when Merricat asks him to go away?

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

5. What is Helen Clarke's goal when she comes by the house in Chapter 9?

6. What do the girls decide to do in honor of Uncle Julian in Chapter 9?

7. How do the villagers show kindness in Chapter 10?

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

9. In Chapter 9, what does Merricat see and hear in the night from her hiding spot?

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss the motif of loyalty in the novel "We Have Always Lived in the Castle." Who is loyal to whom? In what way does Constance's loyalty to her sister negatively impact her life? Is the loyalty between Merricat and Constance swayed at any time?

Essay Topic 2

Analyze and interpret the information given about the murders? How might they have taken place and why? In what manner does Jackson share the information about the murders? Is the identity of the murderer a surprise?

Essay Topic 3

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?

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