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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 boy and girl sit after they have their drinks?

2. Where does the man tell the boy he is going to sit?

3. What does the boy ask the girl after the man drop his cigarette between the couch cushions?

4. What does the man suggest the boy and girl do after he puts on a second record?

5. What makes the girl a little uneasy as she dances with the man?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does the girl tell the story of the night at the man's house to everyone? Does she figure anything out?

2. What does the man say about the neighbors watching him dance with the girl at the end of the story?

3. Describe the man and the girl dancing together at the end of the story.

4. What does the man suggest the boy and girl do after he puts on a second record? What does the boy think of this suggestion?

5. What does the man tell the boy and girl about the record player after he turns off the TV?

6. What does the boy tell the man and the girl the whiskey does to him?

7. What does the man think as he watches the faces of the boy and girl in the lamplight?

8. What does the man drop on the sofa? Who helps him?

9. Why does the girl just pick a record at random when the man tells her to pick something?

10. What does the girl tell the other people about the night at the man's house?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write an essay examining the record player as a symbol in "Why Don't You Dance?." In what scenes does the record player appear? What is the context? How does the record player develop the narrative?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss Carver’s focus on the theme of intimacy as presented in the story.

Essay Topic 3

Examine how the theme of change plays a part in the plot of "Why Don't You Dance?".

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 628 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample