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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 are the flashes of light the narrator ignores on his walk on the last day of training?

2. How old is the narrator from the story, De Daumier-Smith's Blue Period, when his parents divorce?

3. Who thinks all Americans despise tea?

4. Who throws the key chain into the lake?

5. Who is Sandra?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does Arthur call Lee in the first place of Pretty Mouth and Green my Eyes?

2. Why is Sandra so worried about Lionel when he runs away in Down at the Dinghy?

3. Why does Bobby move the family to Paris in 1929?

4. Why does Arthur think his marriage isn't working?

5. Why is the narrator so taken with Sister Irma?

6. Why does Arthur call Lee back and pretend Joanie is finally home?

7. Why is it ironic that the school closes down for not having a business license?

8. How does the story, Down at the Dinghy, end?

9. Why is the narrator so taken by Esme?

10. Why does Arthur want to move to Connecticut?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

In For Esme - With Love and Squalor, a young girl becomes a powerful leader in recovery for the narrator. Why is Esme able to be so helpful to a solider that is so adversely affected by the war? What simple acts help him most? Why isn't his family able to help as much as Esme? How does a 13-year-old that he meets one time leave such a lasting impression?

Essay Topic 2

New York and Connecticut are widely used throughout the book. What generalizations can be made about each city after having read Nine Stories? Do you want to go to either place? Do you live in either place? Does the story collection make you want to visit either place? Use examples from the book to explain your answers.

Essay Topic 3

The wealthy and bored housewife character is written about in a couple of the short stories in Salinger's collection. Explore this character by comparing and contrasting the women. What do they have in common? Why is this a returning type of character in the collection?

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