Posted: July 23rd, 2013
The Short Story—Final Exam
Short Answer (5 points each): Write a few sentences (no more than five) in response to each of the following questions.
1. Briefly explain what Jenny the mule might represent in “The Man Who Was Almost a Man.”
2. Briefly explain the symbolic meaning of weight in “The Things They Carried.”
3. How is Elisa’s characterization significant to “The Chrysanthemums”
4. Briefly explain the purpose of jazz/blues in “Sonny’s Blues.”
5. In “The Red Convertible,” what happens to Henry in Vietnam?
6. In “Paul’s Case,” why does Paul despise Cordelia St.?
7. Who is the narrator in “A Rose for Emily” and why does Faulkner make this choice?
8. Briefly explain the significance of the apple tree in a “wild garden” in “Araby.”
Essay Questions (30 points each): CHOOSE 2 of the following questions and write 4-5 paragraphs in response to each. Make sure to develop your answers with specific examples from the text, and write the number of the question to which you are responding.
1. Analyze the symbolic significance of the red convertible in (what else?) “The Red Convertible.”
2. Explore the conflict between tradition and modernity in “Paul’s Case.”
3. Explore the conflict between Emily and the town in “A Rose for Emily.”
4. Write about the importance of race in “The Man Who Was Almost a Man.”
5. Break down the climactic scene in “Sonny’s Blues,” where the narrator watches Sonny on stage. What do you make of the musicians’ relationships? What part does the act of making music play for Sonny?
6. Explain what the grandmother in “A Good Man is Hard to Find” realizes the moment before she is killed?
7. Explain the last lines of “Araby”: “Gazing up into the darkness I saw myself as a creature driven and derided by vanity; and my eyes burned with anguish and anger.”
8. Explore the theme of justice in “The Secret Sharer.”
9. Analyze Elisa’s transformation throughout “The Chrysanthemums” and be sure to explain how her character changes from the story’s end to beginning.
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