Exam Preparation for Short Stories

Student’s Name
Tutor’s Name
Course
Date
English 12
1. Multiple Choice Questions based on the short story “Neighbors”
What is the main method of presentation employed in the literary work “Neighbors” by Raymond Carver?
Expert testimony.
Compare and contrast.
Third person narration.
Chronological order.
What is the main literary element used in the “Neighbors”?
Setting.
Characterization.
Foreshadowing.
Irony.
How can “Neighbors” be best classified?
A “fly on the wall” narration.
An objective narration.
Fiction.
Factual narration.
What do references to Arlene’s past suggest about her?
She is adopting into a new lifestyle.
She is homesick.
She is in renunciation.
She is becoming nostalgic.
What is the impact of parallel structure in the 5nd paragraph of the short story?
It portrays Arlene’s lack of confidence.
It build’s Arlene’s argument.
It shows how angry Arlene was.
It implies that Arlene needs a vacation.
Why is Billy anxious while conversing with Stones’ neighbors (paragraphs25-32)?
He is afraid they will judge him.
He is embarrassed about his lifestyle.
He does not want to expose the sadness of his past.
He does not want to hurt their feelings.
What do fireworks in the narrative symbolize?
A promise of future’s prosperity as well as success.
An increasing excitement among the characters.
Explosiveness of Bill’s disagreement with his neighbors.
A celebration of tolerance and acceptance.
What is the main reason for Bill to refurbish items that were already discarded?
He does not have trust in modern technology.

He is an antic collector.
He is a sales man.
He has social conscience.
What is Arlene’s impression of the furnishings in Stones’ apartment?
They are luxurious.
They are inviting
They are expected.
They are extra-ordinary.
2. Asses the point of view employed by Raymond Carver in writing the short story “Neighbors”?
The point of view employed by the author can best be described as third-person limited. Through this point of view, the narrator is only aware of the thoughts and feelings of one character without paying similar or much attention to other characters in the narrative. In the short story “Neighbors,” the narrator explores Bill’s actions and thoughts, for the most part. The narration includes Arlene in its point of view, while remarking that both Arlene and Bill needed to take a break from their tiring lives as secretary and bookkeeper respectively. Nonetheless, the reader is mostly made privy of the thoughts of Bill as he stays in the Stone’s apartment, violates his neighbors’ identity and almost loses his own identity after stealing the Stone’s identity.
Work Cited
Carver, Raymond. Fires: essays, poems, stories. Vintage, 2015.