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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. Who is the subject of Homer's story?

2. Who is Mike Scollay?

3. What did Homer do for the Todd family in his past?

4. Where is the inventor's splinter displayed?

5. In "Here There Be Tygers," what does Charles call the bathroom that leads him to be corrected by his teacher?

Short Essay Questions

1. Hyperbole is a figure of speech in which exaggeration is used for emphasis or effect; an extravagant statement. For example, "The sun was blindingly bright and hotter than ten thousand fires." Give an example of hyperbole from "The Wedding Gig" and give an explanation of why King uses it in this story.

2. The creator of the teleportation device used in the jaunt first experimented with mice. What is the significance of the first trip taken by the mice?

3. Why do you think King bases his entire introduction on a seemingly mundane conversation with a friend?

4. "Word Processor of the Gods" could fit into several different genres. Which genre do you think it fits into best and why?

5. Compare/contrast the two rooms in the PAT. Why do you think they are so drastically different?

6. In "Word Processor of the Gods," what do you think about Richard's choice of his brother's family over his own? Is a choice made of faithfulness or greed?

7. In "The Monkey," what does the stuffed creature represent to Hal? What fears does it reawaken within him?

8. What do you think Mike Scollay was implying when he told the coronet player that he was going to have to play loud?

9. In "The Mist," what do you think is the underlying message the story conveys to the reader? Cite examples from the story.

10. Why do you think Charles calls the bathroom the basement in "Here There Be Tygers"?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

"Nona" is a story about a man who seems to be under the influence of an odd woman named Nona. Under her influence, he commits murder like he's been doing it all of his life. At the end of the story, Nona turns into a rat and the narrator leaves a suicide note. What do you think King's plot is in this story? Following the winding, sometimes foggy, storyline is at times difficult. What do you think the point of the story is, and what is the point of the narrator's suicide?

Essay Topic 2

The "willing suspension of disbelief" is a formula for justifying the use of fantastic or non-realistic elements in literature where the writer infuses a human interest and a semblance of truth into a fantastic tale, encouraging the reader to suspend judgment concerning the implausibility of the narrative. The horror genre must often employ this method to keep a reader's interest. Choose an example of willing suspension of disbelief from one of the stories in "Skeleton Crew" and outline how it employs this formula and why it works for this particular tale.

Essay Topic 3

The plot is the arrangement of ideas and incidents that make up a story. The plot is important. Choose two stories from "Skeleton Crew," identify the plot, and outline the methods King uses to develop that plot.

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