Name ______Period ______
English 8 Short Story Unit Reading Questions
Directions: Use these questions to help prepare you for the lessons/activities/assessments that you will be given about these stories. If a sentence ends with a …, be able to finish it.
“Eleven” by Sandra Cisneros
1. To whom does the red sweater actually belong?
2. Based on the fact that Rachel says it is too late to have a happy birthday, one can infer that…
3. Explain the role that the red sweater had in making Rachel upset.
4. Explain Rachel’s philosophy about birthdays and how it justifies the way people act in certain situations.
“The Dinner Party” by Mona Gardner
1. Write a statement with which the colonel would agree.
2. The naturalist knows that there is a snake in the room because…
3. The naturalist gets everyone to sit still by…
4. One can infer that the cobra did not strike Mrs. Wynnes because…
5. The first sentence of the story tells us the setting is India. Why is this information important to the story?
“Raymond’s Run” by Toni Cade Bambara
1. How did Squeaky gain her name?
2. Why do people call Raymond Squeaky’s “little” brother?
3. What conclusion can be drawn about the relationship between Squeaky and Raymond?
4. In this sentence, “To the right a blurred Gretchen, who’s got her chin jutting out as if it would win the race all by itself,” what does the word “jutting” mean?
5. Explain why Squeaky develops “a new plan”.
6. Squeaky suggests that it is difficult for girls in our society to be “something honest and worthy of respect.” Explain why you agree or disagree with her opinion.
“The Path Through the Cemetery” by Leonard Q. Ross
1. Why was Ivan called “The Terrible”?
2. Which even occurred last?
3. In your own opinion, why did Ivan die? Who is responsible for his death?
“Mother in Mannville” by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings
1. The narrator’s first impression of Jerry is that he is…
2. After Jerry has an opportunity to modify the narrator’s first opinion of him, the narrator says he…
3. Based on Jerry’s first description of his mother in Mannville, one can infer that…
4. At the end of the story, the reader learns that Jerry has no mother. From this, one can infer that…
5. Explain why Jerry lied to the narrator about not having a mother.
6. Using details from the story, explain how Jerry is a round character.
“You Can’t Take it With You” by Eva Lis-Wurio
1. What does the reader learn from the fact that Uncle Basil “wasn’t as deaf as he made out.”
2. Uncle Basil’s request for a “roomy” coffin is an example of what literary term?
3. What could the family have done that would have saved their fortune?
4. Irony is when what happens is the opposite of what one would expect. Explain how the ending of the story is ironic. Use details to support your answer.
5. Agree or disagree with the following statement: Uncle Basil is a complete miser with no regard for his family’s well-being. Support your position with details from the story.