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This quiz consists of 5 multiple choice and 5 short answer questions through Section 1: "Afterward".

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Who is the author of "Afterward"?
(a) Shirley Jackson.
(b) O. Henry.
(c) Edith Wharton.
(d) Henry James.

2. When Mary thinks back on the October visit from the mysterious man, she thinks that it "had no mark of the portentous" (86). What does this mean she felt about the visit at the time that it happened?
(a) It was an obvious breach of etiquette.
(b) It was clearly unlucky.
(c) It did not seem to have any significant meaning for the future.
(d) It did not seem as confusing at the time as it would later become.

3. What does Mary suddenly remember finding one day in October?
(a) A book on the house's history.
(b) A letter addressed to a previous occupant of the house.
(c) A hidden staircase.
(d) A mysterious portrait.

4. Mary thinks about the "latent" significance of a piece of information on page 83. What kind of meaning does this information have?
(a) Meaning that seems positive at first but later reveals a negative side.
(b) Meaning that reveals a hidden aspect of the speaker.
(c) Meaning that stays with a person and is hard to "shake."
(d) Meaning that was always there but takes time to emerge.

5. In Mary's mind, what is the only possible source of information about what has happened to Ned?
(a) Parvis.
(b) Trimmle.
(c) Ned's papers.
(d) Lyng.

Short Answer Questions

1. When Mary is waiting in the library at the beginning of the story, where is Ned?

2. What explanation does Ned give Mary at the time of the mysterious visit in October?

3. Why are Ned and Mary so interested in living in an isolated location?

4. In the opening of the story, what is Mary waiting for?

5. Why does the narrator say that Ned and Mary are "two romantic Americans" (83)?

(see the answer key)

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