WorksheetsThree Skeleton Key Test Prep
Total questions: 37
Worksheet time: 12mins
Why does the narrator take the job at Three Skeleton Key?
He wants to protect the lighthouse.
He wants to set aside some money before he gets married.
He wants to watch the ships sail by at night.
Why is it unusual for the lighthouse keepers to see a ship in their waters?
The island is off-limits to sailors.
Sailors are afraid of the Flying Dutchman.
The waters are treacherous.
How does the narrator convince us that the sea rats in this story are of the worst possible sort?
He says that the rats are able to scratch and tear through wood, metal, and glass.
He says that Dutch sea rats eat dogs, cats, men, sharks, and one another.
He tells the story of the two terrier dogs on a Dutch ship that were eaten by sea rats.
Why do the officers and crew of the first patrol boat look at the lighthouse with a horrified expression?
The light is completely covered by a seething mass of rats.
Sharks are circling the island.
Sharks are hungrily devouring the rats.
All of the following strategies are used to rescue the three men from the island except-
the lighthouse keepers set fire to the island
the crew tempts the rats onto a barge filled with meat
the crew drench the barge with gasoline and then set it on fire
In a story filled with suspense, the reader feels-
overwhelming joy
sadness about the fate of the characters
anxious curiosity
Which of the following details found early in the story helps you to predict that “Three Skeleton Key” will be a frightening tale? (Foreshadowing)
The history of the rock
The work that had to be done at the lighthouse
The revolving beam of light
Which of the following is an example of foreshadowing?
The narrator sees the Dutch ship heading for the island.
Some of the rats fall into the ocean and are eaten by the sharks.
A man dreams of the three convicts' skeletons.
Which of the following details is not intended to create suspense?
The waters around the key swarm with hungry sharks.
The framework of one window is eaten away and sags inward.
Through their glasses, the men see a barge.
Does this statement tell how the setting affects the plot of the story? the other rats greeted them with "shrill cries... with... a derisive note..
Yes
No
Does this statement tell how the setting affects the plot of the story? It takes place on a small rock twenty miles or so from the mainland,” “a small, bare piece of stone, about one hundred fifty feet long, perhaps forty wide,”
Yes
No
Does this statement tell how the setting affects the plot of the story? The waters around the island are treacherous and swarm with sharks.
Yes
No
Does this statement tell how the setting affects the plot of the story? Sailors are afraid of the Flying Dutchman.
Yes
No
What is the definition of derisive?
understand
large moving crowds
fit to be eaten
scornful and ridiculing
moving back
What is the definition of receding?
understand
large moving crowds
fit to be eaten
scornful and ridiculing
moving back
What is the definition of fathom?
understand
large moving crowds
fit to be eaten
scornful and ridiculing
moving back
What is the definition of hordes?
understand
large moving crowds
fit to be eaten
scornful and ridiculing
moving back
What is the definition of edible?
understand
large moving crowds
fit to be eaten
scornful and ridiculing
moving back
DOES THIS QUESTION HAVE ANYTHING TO DO WITH THE SETTING (WHERE & WHEN) AFFECTING WHAT HAPPENS IN THE PLOT? Luckily, the trapdoor was metal, set into the granite with iron bolts
yes
no
In works of fiction, point of view refers to-
a political slant
the vantage point of how the author tells the story
the geographical location of the narrator
Which of the following statements is written from the first-person point of view?
I felt that after all these years of pain, I was ready to take a stand.
Yolanda is the person best qualified to run for class president.
The two students debated important school issues.
In the third-person limited point of view-
the story is told by one of the characters, speaking as “I”
the narrator focuses on the thoughts and feelings of only one character
the story is told by a narrator who understands each of the characters
Which of the following statements is written from the third-person limited point of view?
Anna’s heart sank when she saw her failing grade, but her father felt a surge of anger when he learned of it.
Anna told no one about her failing grade, although she worried that her parents would find out.
My parents would soon discover my failing grades.
In the omniscient point of view, the narrator-
is personally involved in the action of the story
can tell the readers only what one character is thinking or feeling
can tell readers everything about the characters, including their thoughts
In "Three Skeleton Key" the author contrasts (shows the differences) between the characters' POINT OF VIEW of their situation by describing...
how Three Skeleton Key got its name
what happened to each man at the end of the story
the ways the men behaved and looked at each other
The author contrasts the narrator's point of view with that of the other men by...
PROVIDING THE DIALOGUE when Itchoua says, "But why the devil was she abandoned? Nothing is smashed..."
EXPLAINING THE REACTIONS of all three men when the rats trapped them
DESCRIBING THE NARRATOR'S REASONS for staying at the light "No reason why such an incident should keep me from finishing out my service, is there?"
Which of the following details is NOT intended to create SUSPENSE (anxious curiosity)?
The waters around the key swarm with hungry sharks.
The framework of one window is eaten away and sags inward.
Through their glasses, the men see a barge.
What is "the writer’s attitude towards the subject of the piece, the audience, and self"?
Tone
Mood
Foreshadow
Suspense
What is "the use of clues to suggest events that will happen later in the plot"?
Tone
Mood
Foreshadow
Suspense
What is "the overall mood or emotion of a work of literature"?
Tone
Mood
Foreshadow
Suspense
What is the OVERALL tone and mood of "Three Skeleton Key"?
light-hearted and fun
futuristic and unbelievable
fear and suspense
Does the question FORESHADOW the OVERALL TONE and MOOD of the STORY? "When I was a young man, not very long in the service, there was an opening in a lighthouse newly built off the coast of Guiana, on a small rock twenty miles or so from the mainland."
Yes
No
Does the question FORESHADOW the OVERALL TONE and MOOD of the STORY? "She was a beautiful ship of some four thousand tons, a fast sailer that had carried cargoes to every part of the world, plowing the seas unceasingly."
Yes
No
Does the question FORESHADOW the OVERALL TONE and MOOD of the STORY? "The three of us grew tense as the ship seemed about to crash on one of our numerous reefs, but she suddenly lurched with some change of the wind..."
Yes
No
Does the question FORESHADOW the OVERALL TONE and MOOD of the STORY? "But the rats did not drown...As much as home in the sea as any fish, they formed ranks in the water, heads lifted, tails stretched out, paws paddling."
Yes
No
Does the question FORESHADOW the OVERALL TONE and MOOD of the STORY? "All the while we could hear the enraged scraping of claws against stone and glass."
Yes
No
What is "the uncertainty or anxiety you feel about what will happen next"?
Tone
Mood
Foreshadow
Suspense
