An Uncomfortable Bed

22. Read these sentences from line 3. 

My friends were fond of practical jokes. I do not care to know people who are not. 

These statements impact the story by explaining 

• why the narrator laughs so hard at dinner

• the narrator's presence at the dinner 

• the narrator's reason for suspicion 

• why the guests embraced him 

23. What does the phrase "as a dog scents game in line 14 of the story suggest about the narrator's actions? 

• He is enjoying the laughter of the other guests. 

• He feels on the verge of finding the prankster. 

• He feels left out of the dinner conversation. 

• He is alert to some hidden plan

24. Read lines 14 and 15 of the story. 

I did not let a word, or a meaning, or a gesture escape me. 

This sentence suggests that the narrator 

• feels anxious about his current situation

• is highly critical of his friends interactions 

• feels defenseless against the coming events 

• is too distracted to join his friends' conversation 

25. How do lines 25 through 33 build suspense? 

• They suggest that someone is looking in the window. 

• They extend the narrator's search for deceit. 

• They indicate unusual details about the room.

• They reveal the narrator's fear of the dark.

26. Which words reveal the irony of the narrator's situation? 

• "I thought: 'Here are people who have more than their share of amusement, and 

  apparently without reason. They must have planned some good joke." (lines 9 

  through 11)

• “The hour struck for retiring; and the whole household came to escort me to my room." 

  (line 17)

• "However, the night was advancing; and I ended by coming to the conclusion that I was 

  foolish.” (lines 35 and 36) 

• "The precautions I had taken in closing the shutters and going to sleep in the middle of the room had only brought about the practical joke I had been trying to avoid." (lines 68 and 69) 

27. What effect does the point of view of the story have on the reader? 

 

• The point of view increases suspense by limiting the reader to the narrator's 

  understanding of events.

• The point of view creates humor by showing how the narrator's friends 

  misunderstand him.

• The point of view raises the reader's sympathy for the questions the narrator faces. 

• The point of view adds to the reader's mistrust of what the narrator reports.

28. Which detail best expresses a theme of the story? 

• "One autumn I went to spend the hunting season with some friends ..." (line 1)

• “Assuredly I am to be the victim ..." (line 11)

• "I heard persons moving about outside my door." (line 23) 

• "For at least another hour I remained awake, starting at the slightest sound." (line 51)