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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 the character that the narrator calls "the guy who travels" say he goes regularly?

2. What object is used to rescue J.P. from the well?

3. Who gives his New Year's Eve dinner to the narrator?

4. What does the narrator do for a living?

5. When the narrator meets J.P.'s wife, what does he notice about her hands?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

3. Discuss how J.P.'s experience as a child in the well mirrors his experience as an adult alcoholic.

4. Give of an example of how the narrator practices avoidance.

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

6. Give an example of a character feeling stigmatized.

7. Why does J.P. say the proprietor makes him feel like a "bug"?

8. Give an example of hopefulness in the story.

9. Is Frank Martin an alcoholic?

10. What is the significance of the call the narrator intends to make to his wife at the end of the story?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Compare and contrast the personality and outlook of the narrator's wife and J.P.'s wife. How does each react to her husband's alcoholism? Who is the stronger character?

Essay Topic 2

Compare how humility and arrogance are used in the story.

Essay Topic 3

Does the narrator love his wife and his girlfriend? How can you tell?

(see the answer keys)

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