Practice Multiple Choice Key
Part I “Kitchenette Building”
1. ANSWER: A
One theme in the poem is that the cares of everyday life often make it difficult to pursue a
dream. This theme is evident as the writer contrasts the silliness and frivolity of dreams to the
more solid and real cares of everyday life. The poet claims that dreams make a “giddy sound”
(2) whereas more mundane cares like “‘rent’” (3) make a “strong” (2) sound. Therefore the more
immediate cares are weighty and require one’s focus.
2. ANSWER: B
The phrase “involuntary plan” (1) suggests a belief in predetermination. If an action is
involuntary, one does it without having any options or control. A belief in a plan beyond one’s
control suggests a belief in fate.
3. ANSWER: A
The syntax of the sentence “We wonder” (11) suggests that the narrator’s pondering is shortlived. The sentence is comprised of only the barest components of a sentence--a subject and a
verb. The fact that the sentence is so short implies that not much time, energy, or focus is
devoted to this “wonder[ing]” (11).
4. ANSWER: D
The poet most probably chooses the first person plural (we) point of view in order to suggest
that many people experience hardship and struggle in their lives. The pronoun “we” (1) is
ambiguous; the reader does not know whether it applies to a couple, a family, or a whole social
class of people. The reader may conclude that it could apply to any of those and therefore
implies that multiple people share the narrator’s feelings that real life leaves little time to dream.
5. ANSWER: A
The poet most probably chooses the word “giddy” (2) in order to suggest that dreams are
frivolous. The word “giddy” suggests something that is light and silly. It is a word often used in
the cliche “giddy as a schoolgirl” (think thirteen-year-old girl after a boy she has a crush on says
“hi” to her in the hall). Given this connotation, the narrator is suggesting that dreams are not a
serious thing; they are “not strong” (2).
6. ANSWER: A
The lines do not contain a simile.
imagery = “onion fumes” (4), “fried potatoes” (5) “garbage ripening” (6)
juxtaposition = yucky “garbage ripening” (6) next to lovely “Flutter, or sing an aria” (7)
personification= dream singing an “aria down these rooms” (7)
7. ANSWER: D
The device from line 7 mentioned in question 6 strongly connotes grace, beauty, and lightness.
It does not necessarily connote happiness. The first images in the second stanza are
unpleasant-- “onion fumes” (4) and “garbage ripening” (6). The “aria” (line 7) contrasts with
these images that are ordinary, unglamorous, and even yucky. An “aria,” an operatic melody,
suggests a thing of beauty and grace. The content of the song is unknown, so it does not
necessarily suggest happiness. Furthermore, the word “Flutter” (line 7) suggests a graceful, light
movement; it does not suggest happiness.
8. ANSWER: D
The phrase “dry hours” (2) most strongly suggests a lack of fulfillment. If something is dry, then
it is not saturated, or full. Also, consider that the word “dry” has the connotation of lacking life or
lacking vibrancy.
9. ANSWER: C
The poet’s use of rhetorical questions in lines 4-10 (“But could a dream...let it begin?”) suggests
skepticism. The use of the word “could” (4) establishes doubt; it is only an outside possibility
that the dreams could rise above the “garbage ripening” (6) and “onion fumes” (4). The
rhetorical question presents many obstacles that a dream would have to fight through to get
attention, making it seem unlikely that the dream would win out.
10. ANSWER: B
The personification in line 9 (“Had time to warm it, keep it very clean”) suggests that dreams
require effort and care. Because a dream needs to be kept “warm” (9) and “clean” (9), it almost
sounds as if the narrator is speaking of a child or a pet, two things which require enormous care.
11. ANSWER: D
The poet does NOT choose the details in lines 4-6 (“But could a dream/...in the hall) in order to
illustrate the narrator’s persistence in overcoming obstacles. If anything, the narrator is
extremely doubtful that dreams have any power or significance at all. See rationale for question
nine.
A: The details suggest the power of mundane cares because “onion fumes” (4) and “garbage
ripening” are pretty pungent, in other words, powerful.
B. The details do exemplify a lack of beauty in everyday life--“onion fumes” (4) and “garbage
ripening”--yuck!
C. The details do provide a contrast to the narrator’s characterization of dreams. Dreams are
lovely; they “Flutter” and “sing an aria” (7); the details in lines 4-6, on the other hand, are
pungent and yucky.
12. ANSWER: A
The narrator reveals her feelings of impotence with the use of the word “things” (1). Because
she refers to herself and those like her as “things” (1), it implies that she is somehow less than
human. Things, unlike people, are generally inanimate and definitely lack a will or spirit. As
such, they do not exert control over the environment around them.
13. ANSWER: D
The exclamations in line 11 (“But not well! not for a minute!”) suggest an exasperated dismissal.
The exclamations signal an end to the narrator’s short-lived wondering. The exclamations
suggest that she is moving on to think of something more immediate; she does not have time to
ponder dreams any longer.
14. ANSWER: B
The tone of the poem is best described as resigned. The narrator believes that her life has been
pre-determined according to some “involuntary plan” (1). Although she briefly and skeptically
contemplates whether a dream could get by all the mundane and pressing cares, she dismisses
this notion emphatically (see #13) and focuses on trying to get a minute in the bathroom. And
even for that minute in the bathroom, she is only “hop[ing] for lukewarm water” (13); she does
not even aspire to hot water.
Part II From Jane Eyre
1. ANSWER: C
The speaker in this passage is an unnamed girl. The speaker mentions Miss Temple and Helen
as people other than herself, so neither of those could be the speaker. The speaker is not a
servant because she participates in the conversation; she is not just an observer.
2. ANSWER: A
The tone of the first paragraph is serious and quiet. In the first paragraph, the narrator discusses
how she “told [Miss Temple] all the story of my sad childhood” (1). She says that as she told the
story, she kept her words “subdued” (2), “restrained” (4), and “simplified” (4). These descriptions
suggest a tone that is serious and quiet.
3. ANSWER: B
The words “sad” and “subdued” suggest a serious and quiet tone as a “sad story” (1) suggests
that the one telling it is serious. And because the speaker is “subdued” (2) as she tells it, it
suggests that she is quiet rather than animated.
4. ANSWER: A
In paragraph 1 (lines 1-5), the speaker concludes that Miss Temple believes her because in this
retelling of her story she uses less angry language than usual. The narrator says that she told
her story with “less of gall and wormwood” (4) than usual; these words mean bitterness and
poison. After saying that her words were less bitter, she concludes, “Thus...it [her story]
sounded more credible” (4-5).
5. ANSWER: B
From the first two paragraphs of the passage, the reader may infer that Mrs. Reed is a woman
persecuting the speaker. In the second paragraph, the narrator says that Mrs. Reed “locked me
a second time in a dark and haunted chamber” (7-8). Being locked in a dark closet by someone
on more than one occasion is surely persecution.
6. ANSWER: D
In the first two paragraphs, the narrator does NOT reveal a resentful need to tell a story from the
past. The narrator characterizes her story as “restrained and simplified” (4) which suggests that
she is not resentful. Furthermore, the narrator says that she heeds Helen’s “warning against the
indulgence of resentment” (3). In other words, the narrator says that she consciously tries not to
be resentful.
7. ANSWER: A
The implication in lines 14-20 is that Miss Temple is worried but positive. The reader may
conclude that she is worried because she asks whether Helen has “‘coughed much today’” (14),
and she “sigh[s] low” (18) after checking Helen’s pulse. She remains positive, though, because
she speaks to the girls “cheerfully” (19).
8. ANSWER: C
In lines 20-23 the speaker uses imagery that appeals to sight and smell. She claims that the
china cups and teapot look “bright” (21) “to [her] eyes” (21). She also claims that the “steam of
the beverage” (22-23) is “fragrant” (22), and she delights in the “scent of the toast” (line 23).
9. ANSWER: C
In line 27, the writer includes the detail of the fire to set a mood of cozy warmth and friendship.
All the details of this meeting with the girls and Miss Temple are pleasant. The narrator claims
that they “feasted...on nectar and ambrosia” (24). The fire continues the pleasantness of this
time spent together. The girls sit “one on each side of her” (27) as Miss Temple gathers them to
the fire. This positioning suggests a desire to be close to Miss Temple. Furthermore, the
narrator claims that hearing the conversation between Helen and Miss Temple is a “privilege”
(28), suggesting that the mood remains positive as the three sit by the fire.
10. ANSWER: D
In lines 30-32, the one word that best describes the girls’ feelings for Miss Temple is “awe” (32).
The narrator claims that mere pleasure was not enough to describe what it was like to be in the
company of Miss Temple. She claims that anyone in her company is overcome “by a controlling
sense of awe” (31-32). The narrator is not immune to this “controlling sense of awe” (31-32)
because she admits, “such was my feeling now” (32).
11. ANSWER: B
The connotation of the word “swelling” in line 41 is that of something rising up and bubbling
over. The narrator uses diction related to a river or “spring” (41) to describe the power of Helen’s
words which “flowed” (40) from some unknown “source” (40). The idea of rising up and bubbling
over fits because Helen’s “eloquence” (41) is demonstrated by this full flow of language.
12. ANSWER: A
In lines 39-41, the author uses a metaphor to compare Helen’s words to river flowing from a
spring. See rationale for #11.
13. ANSWER: A
The purpose of the last sentence is to foreshadow the early death of Helen. The narrator says
that Helen’s “spirit seemed hastening to live within a very brief span” (43); if her spirit is in a
hurry to live, and if it indeed only has a “brief span” (43), then the narrator is implying that Helen
will die young rather than live a “protracted existence” (44).