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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 does Paul think of the effort it takes to answer Miss Buell's question?

2. What kind of boots does the postman have?

3. As Paul observes, what are the garden walls made of?

4. What color is the hydrant with the painted chain on it that Paul sees?

5. How does Paul feel about his mother as Part 1 ends?

Short Essay Questions

1. When and how did Paul's secret start?

2. What does Paul's mother symbolize at the end of the story?

3. How is Silent Snow, Secret Snow's ending similar to its beginning, and why does the story end the way it does?

4. What is the interruption that occurs in Part 4, and how is it received?

5. How is Paul's secret first introduced?

6. Why does Aiken choose to set the story in Paul's mind?

7. Where is the snow when Paul first sees it during the examination?

8. What are two examples of how Paul views the outside world on his walk home from school?

9. How does Paul perceive his parents' tone with the doctor, and why does he find it interesting?

10. How does Deirdre react to Paul's intelligence, and what does that symbolize?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Why is the time and setting of Paul's examination significant? Describe the way the room is set up, according to Paul, what each part of it represents for him and how it contributes to his overall attitude and opinion of the examination itself. Also, explain why Paul is distracted and what his mind is focused on that causes him to wonder about each moment as it passes.

Essay Topic 2

In an analysis of Paul's walk home from school in Part 2, provide answers to the following:

1) What are three examples of things that Paul sees, and how do they represent the character's state of mind?

2) How is the snow used to counter reality? Describe the way Paul views the snow in comparison to the real things he encounters.

3) What is his general impression of the outside world? How has it changed, and why?

Essay Topic 3

What is the snow's role in Paul's examination, and how does it appear different than it did earlier? What does the snow do for the first time in Part 3, and how does that display a severe problem for Paul? What effect does the snow have on Paul while he is being questioned, and what are the orders it gives him? What do they reveal?

(see the answer keys)

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