English 9
Ms. Lanier
Midterm Exam (1st quarter)
Multiple Choice
Answer each of the following questions by circling the correct letter answer. (Worth 2 points each).
1. What is the point of view of “The Speckled Band?”
A. Limited first person
B. Limited third person, Watson’s point of view
C. Limited first person, Holmes’ point of view
D. Third person omniscient
2. What is “the speckled band?”
A. a band of gypsies
B. a swamp adder
C. a scarf
D. a musical group
3. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
A. once killed off Sherlock Holmes, only to bring him back in another work.
B. won a Pulitzer prize in journalism.
C. sailed around the world on a catamaran.
D. Invented the umbrella in addition to his writing.
4. Edgar Allan Poe is known as
A. The Duke of Edinburgh
B. The Father of the Short Story
C. Ole Ironsides
D. The Father of New Criticism
5. Why does Montresor want to take revenge on Fortunato?
A. Because he stole his pumpkins
B. Because he drank all of the wine
C. Because of an unstated insult by Fortunato against Montresor
D. Because he thinks he is foolish
6. Where does the climax of “The Cask of Amontillado” take place:
A. On a pirate ship
B. In a castle
C. In an old English manor house
D. In the crypt in the catacombs
7. In “The Stub Book,” why does the farmer give names to his produce?
A. He is trying to be funny.
B. He has spent so much time with them they are like children to him.
C. It makes them easier to remember.
D. He is hallucinating and thinks they are really people.
8. In the story, “The Stub Book,” how does the farmer prove the stolen pumpkins are really his?
A. He calls out each of their names.
B. He shows the police a receipt for the seeds.
C. He matches up the stems to the cut places on each pumpkin.
D. He has taken pictures of them.
9. Pedro Antonio de Alarcón was:
A. the king of Spain.
B. the first modern war correspondent.
C. a pastry chef.
D. a boot maker.
10. Hernando Tellez was a:
A. Journalist.
B. doctor.
C. boat captain.
D. dictator of Cuba.
11. In the story, “Just Lather, That’s All,” what reasons does the barber have to tremble and be
upset?
A. He is not sure why Torres has come in; he may be looking for the barber as a rebel.
B. He is shivering and upset because he has a cold.
C. He is upset because Torres is the leader of the opposing forces and he has come in for a
shave.
D. Both A and C.
12. What does the barber mean by, “No one deserves to have someone else make the sacrifice of
becoming a murder?”
A. The barber would rather kill Torres himself.
B. The barber wants to maintain his sense of right.
C. The barber wants to join Torres’ army.
D. The barber has not picked sides in the war.
13. Stephen Vincent Benet:
A. was a doctor.
B. wrote about Sherlock Holmes
C. won a Pulitzer Prize.
D. was the captain of an English sailing ship.
14. In the story, “The Blood of Martyrs,” what was the prisoner’s position before he was jailed?
A. He was a biochemist and professor.
B. He was a doctor.
C. He was a barber.
D. He was a pastry chef.
15. What is the prisoner’s final act of defiance?
A. He refuses to eat.
B. He spits in the dictator’s face.
C. He breaks out of jail.
D. He flings the ink at the dictator’s head.
16. Jack London writes mostly about
A. mythical creatures.
B. tales of adventure in the wilderness or at sea.
C. religious parables
D. mystery stories
17. Where is the story, “To Build a Fire” set?
A. Siberia
B. The Yukon
C. Switzerland
D. France
18. What happens to the man at the end of the story, “To Build a Fire?”
A. He is rescued by the French Army
B. He finds his way to the camp.
C. He falls asleep in the snow and freezes to death.
D. He turns around and goes home.
19. John Galesworthy:
A. won the Nobel prize for Literature.
B. declined to be knighted.
C. Accepted the Order of Merit
D. All of the above.
20. What is the narrator’s attitude toward Mr. Gessler in “Quality?”
A. He despised him.
B. He revers and respects him.
C. He thinks he is crazy.
D. He finds him to be lazy.
21. Why did Mr. Gessler have to close his shop?
A. He lost all his customers to the big companies.
B. He became too old to work.
C. He decided to open up a café instead.
D. He moved out of town.
22. Langston Hughes was a major figure in:
A. the civil war
B. the 1936 presidential election
C. the naturalist movement
D. the Harlem Renaissance.
23. In the story, “Thank You, M’am,” what does Roger want to buy?
A. a new bicycle.
B. a pair of blue suede shoes
C. a gift for his mother
D. flowers for his girlfriend
24. What does Mrs. Jones to do Roger when he tries to steal her purse?
A. She calls the police and has him arrested.
B. She chases him down the street.
C. She kicks him in the behind.
D. She throws her shoe at him.
25. What is Personification?
A. pretending to be another person
B. attributing human characteristics to inanimate objects or to animals.
C. going out and helping other people.
D. changing one’s identity.
26. What is the setting of the time and place of the story “The Eclipse?”
A. the rocky mountain part of Sweden in 1912.
B. the northern part of France in 1926.
C. the island of Haiti in 1908.
D. East Germany in 1942.
27. What do the women have in common in “The Eclipse?”
A. They all have blond hair and blue eyes.
B. They all are farmers’ wives and are lonely.
C. They all like to play Hopscotch.
D. They are all secret agents in the rebel army.
28. James Thurber was:
A. A doctor
B. A riverboat pilot
C. A famous American humorist
D. A famous French novelist.
29. Walter Mitty is in real life:
A. a famous American humorist
B. a pilot
C. a doctor
D. a submissive middle age man.
30. The narration of “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty” is told through what point of view?
A. Third person, limited
B. First person
C. Second person
D. Fifth person
31. Heywood Broun is best remembered for his work:
A. with genetics
B. as a radio announcer
C. as a columnist
D. as a quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys
32. How many dragons does Gawaine le Coeur-Hardy slay?
A. 50
B. 51
C. 46
D. 52
33. What is the magic word that protects Gawaine from dragons?
A. Supercalafragilisticexpealadocious
B. Ba-zing
C. Rumplesnitz
D. Expelliarmous
34. What comes first in a short story?
A. The climax
B. The rising action
C. The falling action
D. The exposition
35. What comes at the end of every short story?
A. The climax
B. The falling action
C. The exposition
D. The resolution
Short Essay Questions
Please answer the following question in proper sentence form using 2 or more sentences. (Worth 5
points each).
1. What do we learn about Holmes from his reaction to Dr. Roylott’s visit?
2. What point of view does Poe use to characterize the narrator in “The Cask of Amontillado?”
Why?
3. Describe the characterization of the main character in “To Build a Fire?” What are his
strengths? What are his weaknesses?
4. What is the general theme of the story “Quality?”
5. What are the conflicts presented in the story, “The Eclipse?” How are they resolved?
6. Why do you think the author of “The Fifty-First Dragon” gives the protagonist the name
“Gawaine le Coeur-Hardy?” What literary technique is this?
Bonus Question (worth 5 points): Who came to visit King Solomon and test him with difficult questions?