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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Mitchell says of the laborers at the iron mill in “Life in the Iron Mills,” “Let them have a clear idea of the rights of the soul, and I’ll venture next week they’ll” what?
(a) Bludgeon you for your kindness
(b) Quit for a life of poetry
(c) Strike out to the sea
(d) Strike for higher wages

2. What feeder at the mill does Hugh look down on at the marketplace from his cell in “Life in the Iron Mills”?
(a) Pete Small
(b) Neff Sanders
(c) Mr. Peters
(d) Mr. Clarke

3. The woman who stays behind at the jail after Hugh’s suicide is described as a Quaker or what, “as they call themselves” in “Life in the Iron Mills”?
(a) Pointer
(b) Believer
(c) Follower
(d) Friend

4. What word does the narrator use to refer to a nickname in “Life in the Iron Mills”?
(a) Mariner
(b) Sobriquet
(c) Moniker
(d) Handle

5. What school was Rebecca Harding Davis sent to attend at the age of 14?
(a) Washington Female Seminary
(b) St. Jude Episcopal School for Girls
(c) Anderson Miller Women’s School
(d) St. Mary School for Young Women

Short Answer Questions

1. How does the narrator describe Janey’s eyes in “Life in the Iron Mills”?

2. The narrator in “Life in the Iron Mills” describes “man’s law” as that “which seizes on one” what?

3. What does Mitchell refer to as “the cure for all the world’s diseases” in “Life in the Iron Mills”?

4. What does Deborah begin to eat for dinner after returning from the cotton mill in the beginning of “Life in the Iron Mills”?

5. How many hands are employed at the iron mill where Hugh works in “Life in the Iron Mills”?

Short Essay Questions

1. What decision does Hugh reach when he goes to attempt to return the money in “Life in the Iron Mills”? Why?

2. What does Deb attempt to give Hugh after they return home from the mill in “Life in the Iron Mills”? How does Hugh respond?

3. How would you describe the author’s use of dialogue in “Life in the Iron Mills”?

4. What is Deb doing when her character is first introduced in “Life in the Iron Mills”?

5. What elements of social change did Rebecca Harding Davis encounter during finishing school?

6. How is the setting described in “Life in the Iron Mills”? How does the setting in which the narrator exists differ from the setting of Deb and Hugh’s story?

7. How does the setting of “Life in the Iron Mills” relate metaphorically to the story’s main characters?

8. How would you describe the narrator of “Life in the Iron Mills”? Is the narrator involved in the action of the story?

9. How did Rebecca Harding meet L. Clarke Davis? Where did they first meet, according to the author of “A Biographical Interpretation”?

10. What kind of education did Rebecca Harding Davis receive, according to the author of “A Biographical Interpretation”?

(see the answer keys)

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