Name: _________________
Date: __________________
Class Period: _____________
Literature
Short Stories Unit Test
Instructor: Anita Fossum
Part 1. Matching
Please place the letter of the vocabulary word in front of the correct
definition. (10 pts)
1. ____unnecessary
2. ____falsely attractive
3. ____stingy; careful with money
4. ____to rise to a decisive point
5. ____long unbound hair of women
6. ____accusation
7. ____dirty, filthy
8. ____slacker, avoiding responsibility
9. ____the condition of being a beggar
10. ____a meeting place
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
F.
G.
H.
I.
J.
Imputation
Parsimony
Tresses
Superfluous
Sordid
Culminated
Meretricious
Rendezvous
Truant
Mendicancy
Part 2. True/False
Determine whether the following statements are true or false. If the
statement is true, place a ‘T’ in the blank. If the statement is false, place
an ‘F’ in the blank. Be sure to be clear in your answer. (10 pts)
1. ____Della cut off her hair to pay for the gift she bought for her
husband, James.
2. ____Jenny was late for class because she got into an accident on her
motorcycle.
3. ____Irony is used in the story “Escape Claws.”
4. ____”A Tell-Tale Heart” was written by Nathaniel Hawthorne.
5. ____Goodman Brown’s wife begged him to stay home the night he
traveled into the woods.
6. ____The perfect opening line was, “Fire!”
7. ____Della would never be able to use the combs James had bought her.
8. ____The jester was drunk with happiness because of the carnival in “The
Cask of Amontillado.”
9. ____In “Tell-Tale Heart”, the madman was found guilty of murder when
he went to court.
10. ____In “Erring Dirty Laundry”, the man admitted to having an affair.
Part 3. Short Answer
Please explain how the following words or phrases are developed in short
stories. (2 pts apiece)
1. Plot -
2. Characters -
3. Setting –
Part 4. Essay
On another sheet of paper please answer three of the following questions.
(24pts)
1. Summarize one of Edgar Allen Poe’s short stories we read for class.
Then tell how it fits the criteria of “the short story.”
2. Summarize one of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s stories. Then tell how it
fits the criteria of “the short story.”
3. Explain the difference between the novel and the short story genre.
4. Summarize the story “The Gift of the Magi.” How does the title
pertain to the story?
5. Define irony. Use examples from the texts we read.
6. Is the main character in “Tell-Tale Heart” really a madman? Why or
why not? Provide details and a strong argument.