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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 does Dr. Reefy write on the scraps of paper he keeps in his pockets?

2. Who does Alice Hindman live with?

3. Why does Jesse come to the family farm?

4. What does Louise do to a farmhand at her family's farm one weekend?

5. Why is it Jesse's fault his wife dies?

Short Essay Questions

1. What happens one summer evening in George and Helen's past that George reflects upon?

2. On the night of the storm, what happens between Kate and George?

3. Why is Reverend Curtis' sermon different after the first time he sees Kate?

4. What does the idea of death do to the writer in "The Book of the Grotesque"?

5. Even though Seth is called the "deep one", how is this untrue?

6. Why does Ed Handby want to get married?

7. How does Wing feel about the town where he lives?

8. What do the stories Dr. Parcival tell mean to George?

9. In "Paper Pills", how are the tall, dark girl's suitors different?

10. What does Louise say about the gender of her baby?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The format of "Winesburg, Ohio" is unique. How does this format help Anderson convey his message about the people of Winesburg? Is this an effective device? How does the format help or hurt the stories of these characters?

Essay Topic 2

How does death affect the characters of this novel? Who fears death and why? Who talks about death and why? What does death mean to some of these characters? Most importantly, what does it represent?

Essay Topic 3

Several characters in this novel are lonely. Analyze three characters in terms of their loneliness. Why do they feel alienated? What do they do in response to this alienation? How is loneliness a theme in the novel and what is it representative of?

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