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Name: _________________________ | Period: ___________________ |
This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.
Short Answer Questions
1. In "Polepole," what surprises Daisy about Cecily's reaction to "the man's" hitting the child?
2. In "Polepole," after "the man" punishes the older boy, how does the boy react?
3. Where does "Polepole" take place?
4. In "Occupied," who is Henry?
5. In "Occupied," what causes Ivy to suddenly leave the park?
Short Essay Questions
1. In "Polepole," how do Daisy and "the man" react differently to his hitting the child?
2. In "The Torch," what does the woman remember about being with John?
3. In "Occupied," what is the rhetorical purpose of the many descriptions of individual protestors?
4. In "Occupied," what is implied by the repeated descriptions of the wind?
5. In "Occupied," what construction is happening near the park, and what is its significance?
6. On page 36 of "Occupied," what is meant by the assertion that "In her brain there was always a someone"?
7. In "The Torch," how does Andrew reveal his devotion to his wife?
8. In "Occupied," where does Ivy stop on the way home from work, and why does she stop there?
9. In "Polepole," Daisy's comment of "I don't even know where I am" (3) has both a literal and a figurative meaning. Explain why this is so.
10. On page 55 of "Green Glass," what does Fran mean when she says, "Men like to think women aren't sensitive, at convenient times"?
Essay Topics
Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:
Essay Topic 1
Many of the stories in Why I Don't Write are concerned with time: the past intrudes on the present, time expands and contracts around the characters. Write an essay that takes and defends a position about the role of time in Minot's collection. Use evidence from at least three stories to support your claims.
Essay Topic 2
Several of the stories in the collection Why I Write feature women who feel as if they are in an altered state--hypnotic, dreaming, and so on--when they are with certain men. Write an essay that traces this thematic motif through at least three of the stories; explain how it is developed and what its significance is. Support your claims with textual evidence.
Essay Topic 3
Write an essay in which you consider the symbolic significance of the title "Occupied." Discuss both the characteristics of this movement as revealed in the story and the relationship of that movement to Ivy's life and psychology. Use evidence from the text to support your claims.
This section contains 1,022 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) |
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