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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Who is the author of "The Possibility of Evil"?
(a) Katherine Anne Porter.
(b) Henry James.
(c) Shirley Jackson.
(d) Flannery O'Connor.

2. What does Miss Strangeworth tell Helen Crane about her worries?
(a) She should talk with her husband.
(b) They are just another example of the anxieties Helen has always had.
(c) All babies develop differently.
(d) She should talk with her baby's doctor.

3. When Linda and Dave are seen together after school, they look "bleak" (422). How do they look?
(a) Cold.
(b) Hopeless.
(c) Confused.
(d) Angry.

4. According to Miss Strangeworth, to whom should Helen apologize?
(a) Her husband.
(b) Her mother.
(c) The baby.
(d) Miss Strangeworth.

5. Why did Miss Strangeworth stop calling Tommy Lewis "Tommy" and start calling him "Mr. Lewis"?
(a) It was not usual for adults in this time to use one another's first names.
(b) They had a terrible fight in high school.
(c) He asked her to marry him and then broke off their engagement.
(d) She thinks that his status as a grocer is beneath her.

Short Answer Questions

1. What job does Miss Chandler hold?

2. Who planted the roses outside Miss Strangeworth's house?

3. What is Dave Harris's reason for hand-delivering one of Miss Strangeworth's letters?

4. What detail is included to show that Miss Chandler is upset about something?

5. What kind of flowers does Miss Strangeworth send to the church for the celebration of the new minister's arrival?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is ironic about Dave Harris being the one to find and deliver Miss Strangeworth's dropped letter?

2. Describe the exterior of Miss Strangeworth's house.

3. What does Miss Strangeworth write to Mrs. Foster about her upcoming surgery, and what is she implying?

4. Describe the main character of "The Possibility of Evil."

5. Describe the significance of the paper that Miss Strangeworth chooses for her anonymous notes.

6. What is ironic about Miss Strangeworth's thoughts as she notices that various townspeople seem distressed?

7. What details in the story let the reader know that Miss Strangeworth herself does not believe some of the accusations she is making?

8. What details does Jackson provide about the interior of Miss Strangeworth's house to show the pride the family has always taken in the house?

9. What does Miss Strangeworth write to Mrs. Harper, and what is she implying?

10. What evidence is there in the story that Miss Strangeworth is well-known and respected in the town?

(see the answer keys)

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