Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. Some of the earliest short stories can be found in the Bible. But the short story, as a form, took a major shift in the 14th century, thanks in part to this writer.
2. When did the English short story begin to take the form of prose rather than verse?
3. This short story writer had a theory about the form. He believed a true short story required a "single effect" and insisted that "[i]n the whole composition there should be no word written of which the tendency, direct or indirect, is not to the one pre-established design."
4. This short story writer, however, considered the story to be nothing more than "a frame on which to stretch [his] materials," and he aimed at a "familiar and faithful exhibition of scenes in common life."
5. Which of the following short story writers turned out his works during the 19th century?
6. His tales include a cast of strange characters. One involves a minister who inexplicably dons a black veil. An even stranger tale tells of a man who one day walks out of his house on the pretence of taking a journey. Instead, he takes up lodging one block away. There he lives for twenty years, unknown to his wife, until one day he finally returns and simply resumes his domestic life.
7. He wrote a short story about a copyist who, when asked to do any work by his employer, always replied, "I prefer not."
8. This naturalist writer gave us "The Open Boat."
9. Which of the following is a short story writer who did NOT write all of their works in the twentieth century?
10. The incidents that occur in short stories by this German-language writer are so surreal that a term has even been developed from his name to describe strange experiences.
11. Literary critic Forest Ingram introduced the term "short story cycle" to describe a collection of stories with recurring themes, symbols, and characters united by a setting or chronology. Which of the following is _not_ a short story cycle?
12. This short story cycle focuses on Esperanza Cordero, who is both the protagonist and the narrator.
13. His story, "The Strange Ride of Morrowbie Jukes," gave us the phrase "to eat crow."
14. His stories have three basic plots: (1) someone is buried alive, or (2) someone is alive who should have been dead, or (3) someone dies.
15. In a short story by this author, society, in an attempt to make everyone equal, was forced to make pretty people ugly and graceful people clumsy. One day, Harrison Bergeron attempted to break free of these confines, but he was quickly brought back into line.
16. He was well known for his Christmas short stories, including "The Cricket on the Hearth."
17. This author of "The Martian Chronicles" never wanted to be pegged as a writer of science-fiction.
18. If you come across Kilgore Trout, then you are probably reading a short story by this author.
19. His short story cycle includes such stories as "Two Gallants," "An Encounter," and "A Little Cloud."
20. Characters in his short stories include Luca, Rider, Carothers, Nat, and Caas McCaslin.
Source: Author
skylarb
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Bruyere before going online.
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