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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. Where do the old couple move to?

2. Terri teases the other couple for acting as if:

3. Who asks for something to eat before dinner?

4. Who says they know what love really is and has an example to share?

5. What is the old couple's prognosis?

Short Essay Questions

1. What effect does alcohol have on the characters' conversation about real love?

2. What two professions does Mel say he would have liked to have had and why?

3. What was happening when Mel arrived at the hospital?

4. Which character is the least likable and why?

5. How is a sense of repressed hostility presented in the story?

6. What happens after Mel spills his glass on the table?

7. Why does Terri hope that Marjorie will remarry or die?

8. Describe what Mel was doing when he was notified of the car accident.

9. What is Mel feeling as he describes the old man's love, who senses this, and what is his or her response?

10. What two purposes does alcohol seem to serve in the story?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

This story revolves around love and its various meanings. Compare and contrast the ways each character views and portrays love. What are some possible explanations for their differing understandings of love?

Essay Topic 2

Syntax is the way an author puts words, sentences, and sections together to form ideas and meanings. It can be overt or subtle, isolated to a portion of the work or universal throughout. Describe the syntax Carver uses in this story. How do specific characteristics about the syntax contribute to the reader's experience of the work?

Essay Topic 3

Characterization refers to the description the author gives of the character's appearance, actions, and thoughts. Discuss the characterization of at least one of the main characters in this story. What could Carver have included that would have enriched the reader's experience of that particular character?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 727 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample