The Door by E.B. White
Multiple Choice: Choose the best answer
1.
Which of the following is NOT a picture on one of the doors?
a.
a girl with her arms outstretched
b.
a sunny day
c.
a check for $32.50
d.
an amoeba dividing
2.
The rats had been trained to jump at a card. What is the narrator
facing?
a.
a bridge
b.
a window
c.
a door
d.
larger cards
3.
In the narrator’s opinion, what was worse than being crazy?
a.
dealing with the people around you
b.
the voices in one’s head
c.
the ground coming up to meet your foot when you took a step
4.
How does the story end?
a.
the narrator goes mad
b.
the doctors come and talk to the narrator
c.
an operation is performed
d.
the narrator leaves the room
5.
To what or whom does the narrator blame his confusion?
a.
the city
b.
the doctors
c.
his illness
6.
What is the initial tone of the story?
a.
distress
b.
confusion
c.
anger
d.
embarrassment
7.
What is confusing to the narrator at the beginning of the story?
a.
he is trying to understand a speech in another language
b.
he has a problem that he cannot solve
c.
everything is not as it seems
8.
What is the conflict of the story?
a.
the narrator is confused by contradicting choices
b.
the narrator is lost
c.
the narrator is arguing with a close friend
9.
For how long has the narrator been dealing with unsolvable problems?
a.
his entire life
b.
the last five years
c.
the last ten years
d.
the last twenty years
10.
Who are the rats?
a.
men who had given the police information about a crime
b.
laboratory rats
c.
dishonest friends
Fractured words: Each word is split into 2 parts; put the parts together and use each part
only once
amoe
impl
able
incess
bewilderm
convul
burge
ent
prefa
sions
oring
oning
vi
bricated
unattain
inevit
uble
minary
ba
atic
able
1.
10.
2.
11.
3.
12.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
insol
preli
able
photost
ant
Short Answer: Write at least 3 or 4 sentences to answer each question
1.
2.
3.
Describe the man in Jersey. Why is his story included?
There is a paragraph in the story that speaks of the necessity of
jumping. What does the jumping refer to? Explain.
Is the door a literal door, or is it a metaphor for something else?
Explain. Support your answer with lines from the story.
Extension Activities: Choose one of the following activities and complete it
1.
2.
3.
4.
Research the prefrontal lobe of the brain. What is its function? What
tasks are accomplished by this lobe of the brain?
Write the next chapter in this story. What happens to our narrator?
In the opening paragraph, the narrator states that he is confused by
the names of things. He uses words that are not in our standard
dictionary. Use your imagination and write definitions for these words.
Explain why they would be appropriate, given the context of the story.
E.B. White is the author of two famous children’s books: Charlotte’s
Web and Stuart Little. Compare the writing from one of these books to
the style of this short story. Are there any similarities in the author’s
craft? What are the biggest differences?