A Ladder to the Sky Quiz

Take our free A Ladder to the Sky quiz below, with 25 multiple choice questions that help you test your knowledge. Determine which chapters, themes and styles you already know and what you need to study for your upcoming essay, midterm, or final exam. Take the free quiz now!

Why does Maurice not like Garrett? (from Part 2: The Tribesman)

He has been mad at him ever since he interrupted dinner the night they met.

He does not like that Garrett thinks he is the best writer in the class.

He is afraid that Garrett might be a better writer.

Garrett does not reverence Maurice but challenges him.

Why does Erich tell Oskar that his painting of Alysse is almost pornographic in nature? (from Part 1: Before the Wall Came Down)

He is jealous of the passion that Oskar has captured both in real life and on the canvas.

He is worried that Oskar will get caught by the Nazis for painting a naked woman.

Her pose is highly suggestive and beckons the view to lust after her.

He thinks that the painting is merely sexual in nature and not very good.

Why do the chapter titles in Part II change suddenly from naming individual months to the single word, "Now" (216)? (from Part 2: The Tribesman)

The story is finally caught up to the present, so the last few months are all lumped into the phrase "now".

Edith is in a coma and she has no idea how long she has been in the hospital or what month it is.

"Now" helps the reader to feel like the story is taking place right there with them.

Because of the fall, Edith cannot really remember what month it is.

What does Boyne mean when he writes that Maurice was like "the work of a mediocre painter, [that] might look good on an initial viewing but would eventually reveal itself to be holding little substance beneath the brushstrokes" (101)? (from Interlude: The Swallow's Nest)

Maurice was a handsome man that attracted attention, but underneath his character was shallow.

Maurice's fancy facade and youth would soon fade and then he would no longer be able to use his sex appeal to get what he wanted.

Maurice pretended to know what he was doing, but he really was not a good writer.

Maurice put on a good show for everyone, but he only got published because he used other writers to get him what he wanted.

Maurice's description of Theo "tapping the the tip of his index finger against his thumb rapidly, like a woodpecker attacking an oak tree" (296) is an example of which literary device? (from Part 3: Other People's Stories)

A metaphor.

Personification.

An allusion.

A simile.