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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 the milkman discover at the house with the cancellation note?

2. Whom does the narrator kill while with Nona?

3. What does the narrator do to defend Nona?

4. Where did Richard Pine grow up?

5. Who is Henry Brower?

Short Essay Questions

1. Uncle Otto's business partner, George, was killed in an accident involving Otto's truck. Most people believe that Otto killed George over a business disagreement. Given the circumstances of the ending, do you think it was Uncle Otto or Uncle Otto's truck that killed George and why?

2. Rumor had it that Gramma was a witch and apparently became one because she could not carry a baby to term. Do you think Gramma was justified to dabble in witchcraft to attain her dream?

3. Think about the setting of "The Man Who Would Not Shake Hands." How does the setting of this story add to its scary feeling?

4. Richard Pine is a man who has made his fortune as a surgeon with his hands, but the rest of his life has been shady and complicated. However, through it all, he protected his hands. How do you think he felt when his hands were the only things he had left, and he was faced with eating those for survival?

5. At the end of "Nona," the narrator is surrounded by rats, and Nona herself turns into a huge, disgusting rat. The narrator then embraces the rat and indicates that he is planning suicide. What do you think this story is really about?

6. Identify a simile from "The Reaper's Image" and explain how the simile adds to the description.

7. "The Reaper's Image" is perhaps one of the creepiest tales in "Skeleton Crew." What aspect of this story make it particularly appropriate for a King collection?

8. What type of irony can be found within "Survivor Type"? Be sure to use examples from the text to support your theory.

9. Reg likely suffers from a serious mental illness, yet Henry continues to encourage Reg's fantasies. What do you think was Henry's motivating factor?

10. In "Nona," an innocent and once-upstanding man falls prey to the wiles of a sadistic, evil woman. Giving in to his "darker" side, he performs obscene, despicable acts at the whim of Nona. What do you think King is trying to say with this short story?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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.

Essay Topic 2

In "The Mist," human sacrifice is presented as a potential solution to appease the creatures attacking the people in the grocery store? What do you think King is implying about human nature by suggesting this as an option?

Essay Topic 3

The horror genre is one of the most uncomplicated forms of entertainment and is characterized by the author's effort to produce fear in the reader through the use of antagonists such as monsters, ghosts, or even feral animals. The basic concept is the same: the hero must fight against horrific forces for his life and often his soul. Choose one of the stories in "Skeleton Crew" and explain how it fits into the horror genre and how it follows the horror genre formula.

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