A Ladder to the Sky Quiz

Take our free A Ladder to the Sky quiz below, with 25 multiple choice questions that help you test your knowledge. Determine which chapters, themes and styles you already know and what you need to study for your upcoming essay, midterm, or final exam. Take the free quiz now!

Why does Daniel slap Jupiter in response to being kissed? (from Interlude: The Threatened Animal)

He has seen this kind of behavior on some of the television programs he watches.

He has witnessed Maurice hitting one of his dates.

He wants to scare her away.

He did not like being kissed and has seen other boys interact this way on the playground.

What is the significance of the Swallow's Nest in the novel? (from Interlude: The Swallow's Nest)

Male swallows choose a nest and then attract mates, much as Gore maintains his estate and attracts a flock of friends.

The home is situated high on a cliff overlooking everything in the area, just as Gore has reached great literary heights and is revered by many.

There are large flocks of swallows on the grounds so Gore named the estate in their honor.

Gore likes to function as a mentor and mother bird to young writers.

Based on her comment concerning Daniel's response to the gifts Jupiter gives him (240), what is Mrs. Lane's opinion of men? (from Interlude: The Threatened Animal)

She sees men as very gracious and thoughtful.

She believes men need to learn how to say thank you to women and appreciate them more.

She believes men need to learn to be kinder to women and give them gifts in return.

She views men as taking what they can from women and then casting them aside.

What does it mean that Dash "heard the young man rising in the night as he went about the business of ambition" (115)? (from Interlude: The Swallow's Nest)

Dash heard Maurice head upstairs to the library to read and work.

Dash heard Maurice and Gore talking late into the night.

Dash was aware that Maurice got out of bed to propose a sexual encounter to Gore in hopes of gaining his favor.

Dash heard Maurice working on his novel in his room during the night.

How is Maurice able to take the stories of other writers and publish them as his own? (from Interlude: The Threatened Animal)

He destroys the originals so that there is no evidence that he ever received the story in the first place.

He pays them small for their ideas.

He combines basic story ideas from several places and changes specific details to make the originals unrecognizable.

He only uses the work from foreign writers so that their will be no legal issues.