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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 is the last name of the protagonist, Billy?

2. What does the word "rapacious" mean?

3. According to the narrator, how does Billy feel in his new clothes?

4. What colors is Billy wearing?

5. What type of flowers appear in the Bed and Breakfast's window?

Short Essay Questions

1. After examining the bed and breakfast, why does Billy decide to go to The Bell and Dragon?

2. Describe the landlady as she appears when Billy first encounters her.

3. Where does Billy initially plan to stay while in Bath? Why?

4. How does the narrator describe the weather at the beginning of the story?

5. What is odd about how the landlady opens the door after Billy rings the bell? To what does he compare her?

6. What type of narrator does the story have?

7. Who is Mr. Greenslade and what directions did he give to Billy, as Billy remembers at the beginning of the story?

8. What does the word "rapacious" mean? How might this description foreshadow what is to come?

9. What happens when Billy attempts to walk away from the bed and breakfast?

10. According to Billy, what are the benefits of staying at The Bell and Dragon?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What, in your opinion, caused Billy’s downfall? Answer using support from the text.

Essay Topic 2

What makes Billy so attractive to the landlady? Discuss three of Billy’s traits that contribute to his demise.

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the bird and the dachshund as symbols in the story. What do they represent, and what do they foreshadow?

(see the answer keys)

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