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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. What was J.P. doing when he met his wife?

2. In what part of the state does the story take place?

3. In the story, what is the chimney a metaphor for?

4. How long does the proprietor of the facility recommend that patients stay in treatment?

5. Why does the proprietor suggest the narrator stay longer at the facility this time?

Short Essay Questions

1. Choose a character and explain why he or she is sympathetic.

2. Chimney sweeping is an uncommon job. Why would the author choose it?

3. Why does the narrator remember the story of the landlord painting?

4. What does the narrator's appetite represent?

5. Why don't we learn what the narrator does for a living?

6. What economic class do you think the narrator is from and why?

7. What is J.P.'s wife a symbol of?

8. In the section about the landlord, what does the narrator's nakedness represent?

9. What is the plot of "To Build a Fire," the story the narrator remembers reading?

10. What is the significance of the way Roxy is dressed on New Year's Day?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss the contrasting symbolism of the well and the chimney.

Essay Topic 2

Describe the different ways in which physical vulnerability figures into the story and why.

Essay Topic 3

There is no mention of any of the characters in the story having friends outside the facility. What role does community play in the recovery from addiction? Give examples of how the story threads community and friendship into its themes.

(see the answer keys)

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