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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. How old was Chuck when he moved in with his grandparents, Albie and Sarah Krantz?

2. What is the name of the therapist to whom Holly told her story about the Outsider?

3. What kind of person strokes his mustache when the section entitled "December 8-9, 2020" begins?

4. Albie told Chuck that he swore never to return to the cupola and that when he broke his promise, he saw a future associated with whom?

5. How many short steps are included in the flight of the stairs leading to the cupola?

Short Essay Questions

1. What happens in the prologue of the story "If It Bleeds" and how does it set the mood of the story?

2. Who is Holly Gibney and what other novel written by Stephen King is referenced as featuring Holly as well?

3. Who are Pete and Jerome within the story "If It Bleeds"?

4. What is the status of the relationship between Holly and Ralph when the events of "If It Bleeds" take place?

5. What kind of person is Holly's mother and how do you know?

6. For what reason does King include an allusion to Walt Whitman's "Song of Myself" in Act I: I Contain Multitudes of the story "The Life of Chuck"?

7. How did Chuck react to the sight he encountered inside the cupola when he entered it for the first time?

8. For what reason did Chuck transition from one home to another at age seven?

9. Who is Dr. Carl Morton?

10. What sort of coping mechanisms does Holly use to cope with the effects of her past trauma?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Choose an object from If It Bleeds, such as the crescent-shaped scar on Chuck’s hand or some other symbolic object and discuss its overall meaning and its connection to themes within the text.

Essay Topic 2

William Faulkner once famously claimed that the most important literature deals with the subject of the human heart in conflict with itself. Explain how the theme of Human versus Self is demonstrated within King’s collection If It Bleeds. Create a decisive, arguable claim and prove it with quotes from the collection.

Essay Topic 3

In what way does King utilize irony within the text? Discuss at least three uses of irony within If It Bleeds and explore each instance's connection to larger themes contained within the piece.

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This section contains 1,235 words (approx. 5 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample