View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Why does Mrs. Widdup go into Mr. Coulson's room in the afternoon on the second day of the story?
(a) She wants him to finish what he was going to say on the day before.
(b) She hears him ring for help.
(c) She is concerned that he is all by himself.
(d) She needs to tell him that everyone else has left the house.

2. Which of the following literary techniques is used in the title "The Marry Month of May"?
(a) Understatement.
(b) Alliteration.
(c) Hyperbole.
(d) Personification.

3. Where does Miss Coulson meet the iceman on the next morning?
(a) In the park across from the house.
(b) In the basement.
(c) In the kitchen.
(d) In the vacant lot next door.

4. Which bird is Mr. Coulson said to be "elder brother" to in May?
(a) Turtle-dove.
(b) Robin.
(c) Pigeon.
(d) Chickadee.

5. Miss Coulson has a "lorgnette" (334). What is a lorgnette?
(a) A piece of jewelry used to hold a scarf or shawl closed.
(b) Glasses that have a handle instead of ear-pieces.
(c) A round, flat case designed to hold medications or tobacco.
(d) A high-necked, long-sleeved sweater.

Short Answer Questions

1. What is implied by Mr. Coulson's mention of Palm Beach?

2. What are the details about the iceman's sleeves and hat intended to convey?

3. How many years apart are Miss Coulson's and Mrs. Widdup's ages?

4. On page 334, the narrator refers to the "panoply" of Miss Coulson's "unthrilled bosom." What is the meaning of "panoply" in this context?

5. What does Miss Coulson's believe about love?

Short Essay Questions

1. What rhetorical purposes does O. Henry accomplish with his introduction of Mr. Coulson through a list of things that he "has," like gout, money, and a daughter?

2. When Mr. Coulson complains that no one in the house cares if he lives or dies, how does Mrs. Widdup's reply set the events of the story in motion?

3. How does O. Henry use verbal misunderstandings to characterize Mrs. Widdup when she first appears in Mr. Coulson's room?

4. What is Miss Coulson's plan to head off her father's budding romance?

5. How does O. Henry use dry humor to reveal the narrator's opinion about Mrs. Widdup in the narrative intrusion on page 333?

6. When Mr. Coulson finally confesses his feelings to Mrs. Widdup, what drawback to himself does he acknowledge, and what advantage does he say balances this drawback out?

7. Explain the technique at work in the sentences "Sparrows wrangled happily everywhere outdoors. Never trust May" (333).

8. When Miss Coulson says that the supposedly chilly weather is "An instance...of winter lingering in the lap of spring," what double meaning does she have in mind? (335).

9. When Mr. Coulson comments that the spring weather is "lovely," his daughter replies "That's just it" (334). What does she mean by her reply?

10. When rhetorical purposes are served by the passage where the narrator says that the scent of flowers was carried in through the window and "fought" with the scent of Mr. Coulson's gout medicine?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,210 words (approx. 5 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample