Multiple Choice Questions (Short Fiction, Part 1)

Multiple Choice Practice for Short Fiction (Part 1)

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"Just you, without a name. Attaching a name attaches you to the world of fact, which is riskier, more hazardous: who knows what the chances are out there, of survival, yours? I will say you, you, like an old love song. You can mean more than one." (The Handmaid's Tale, Atwood)

"There is a difference between being put out and being put outdoors. If you are put out, you go somewhere else; if you are outdoors, there is no place to go." (The Bluest Eye, Morrison)

"The Carraways are something of a clan, and we have a tradition that we’re descended from the Dukes of Buccleuch, but the actual founder of my line was my grandfather’s brother, who came here in fifty-one, sent a substitute to the Civil War, and started the wholesale hardware business that my father carries on to-day." (The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald)

"But the year had gone mad. Rain fell as it had never fallen before. For days and nights together it poured down in violent torrents, and washed away the yam heaps. Trees were uprooted and deep gorges appeared everywhere. Then the rain became less violent. But it went from day to day without a pause. The spell of sunshine which always came in the middle of the wet season did not appear. The yams put on luxuriant green leaves, but every farmer knew that without sunshine the tubers would not grow." (Things Fall Apart, Achebe)

"Polly knew that she was being watched, but still her mother’s persistent silence could not be misunderstood." (The Dubliners, Joyce)

Duncan: 'Welcome hither. / I have begun to plant thee and will labor / To make thee full of growing.—Noble Banquo, / That hast no less deserved nor must be known / No less to have done so, let me enfold thee / And hold thee to my heart.' /

Banquo: There, if I grow, / The harvest is your own. (Macbeth, Shakespeare)

"ROSE: 'They got a lot of colored baseball players now. Jackie Robinson was the first. Folks had to wait for Jackie Robinson.'" (Fences, Wilson)

"Then came the war, old sport. It was a great relief, and I tried very hard to die, but I seemed to bear an enchanted life." (The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald)

"The water had turned a deep golden color, and then red, purple, and finally black. The sky had darkened and red lantern lights started to glow all over the lake. I could hear people talking and laughing, some voices from the front of our boat, some from other boats next to us. And then I heard the wooden kitchen door banging open and shut and the air filled with good rich smells. The voices from the pavilion cried in happy disbelief, "Ai! Look at this! And this!" I was hungry to be there." (The Joy Luck Club, Tan)

"So, with lightsome hearts, and the happy consciousness of being usefully employed,—in their own behalf, at least, if not for our beloved country,—these good old gentlemen went through the various formalities of office." (The Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne)

"It's warm for the time of year. Houses like this heat up in the sun, there's not enough insulation. Around me the air is stagnant, despite the little current, the breath coming in past the curtains. I'd like to be able to open the window as wide as it could go. Soon we'll be allowed to change into the summer dresses." (The Handmaid's Tale, Atwood)

"That is when I began to understand the stories Popo taught me, the lessons I had to learn for my mother. "When you lose your face, An-mei," Popo often said, "it is like dropping your necklace down a well. The only way you can get it back is to fall in after it." (The Joy Luck Club, Tan)

"For the first time in many years Okonkwo had a feeling that was akin to happiness. The times which had altered so unaccountably during his exile seemed to be coming round again. The clan which had turned false on him appeared to be making amends." (Things Fall Apart, Achebe)

"Her dress was white and it whispered. He almost thought he heard the motion of her hands as she walked, and the infinitely small sound now, the white stir of her face turning when she discovered she was a moment away from a man who stood in the middle of the pavement waiting." (Fahrenheit 451, Bradbury)

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