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WorksheetsGothic Literature Test
Total questions: 17
Worksheet time: 9mins
Name
Class
Date
1.
PART A Which statement reflects a theme of “The Minister’s Black Veil”?
a)
Humans should fear the unknown.
b)
Life should be lived without regrets.
c)
Relationships can survive secrets, but not lies.
d)
Forgiveness is often preached but seldom practiced.
2.
PART B Which sentence from “The Minister’s Black Veil” best supports the answer to Part A?
a)
Some gathered in little circles, huddled closely together, with their mouths all whispering in the centre; some went homeward alone, wrapped in silent meditation; some talked loudly, and profaned the Sabbath day with ostentatious laughter. (paragraph 13)
b)
It was remarkable that, of all the busybodies and impertinent people in the parish, not one ventured to put the plain question to Mr. Hooper, wherefore he did this thing. (paragraph 23)
c)
But that piece of crape, to their imagination, seemed to hang down before his heart, the symbol of a fearful secret between them and him. (paragraph 23)
d)
Even if his bewildered soul could have forgotten, there was a faithful woman at his pillow, sho, with averted eyes, would have covered that aged face, which she last beheld in the comeliness of manhood. (paragraph 47)
3.
But so wonder-struck were they that his greeting hardly met with a return. (paragraph 6)
a)
Melancholy
b)
Intrigue
4.
It was tinged, rather more darkly than usual, with the gentle gloom of Mr. Hooper’s temperament. (paragraph 12)
a)
Melancholy
b)
Intrigue
5.
Such was its immediate effect on the guests, that a cloud seemed to have rolled duskily from beneath the black crape, and dimmed the light of the candles. (paragraph 21)
a)
Melancholy
b)
Intrigue
6.
That, and the mystery concealed behind it, supplied a topic for discussion between acquaintances meeting in the street, and good women gossiping at their open windows. (paragraph 22)
a)
Melancholy
b)
Intrigue
7.
But still good Mr. Hooper sadly smiled at the pale visages of the worldly throng as he passed by. (paragraph 43)
a)
Melancholy
b)
Intrigue
8.
How does the plot structure of “The Pit and the Pendulum” affect the story’s overall meaning? Cite evidence from the text to support your answer.
4 lines
9.
Read this sentence from paragraph 10 of “The Minister’s Black Veil.”
There was a general bustle, a rustling of the women’s gowns and shuffling of the men’s feet, greatly at variance with that hushed repose which should attend the entrance of the minister.
What is the most likely reason that the author includes this description of the sound
in the meetinghouse?
a)
To underscore the atmosphere of serious spirituality
b)
To illustrate the minister’s lack of awareness
c)
To emphasize the sense of unease among the people
d)
To draw attention to the minister’s gait
10.
The deterioration of the minister’s relationship with Elizabeth is significant to the plot of
“The Minister’s Black Veil” because it —
a)
parallels the relationship the minister has with the church
b)
illustrates the immense power the veil has over others
c)
shows their fundamental incompatibility
d)
emphasizes the differences in their faith
11.
Read these sentences from paragraph 57 of “The Minister’s Black Veil.”
I look around me, and, lo! On every visage a Black Veil!
This image of the veil is symbolic of the —
a)
universality of secrets
b)
harsh judgment of others
c)
attractive powers of mystery
d)
refusal to see the faults of peers
12.
Which phrase from paragraph 3 of “The Pit and the Pendulum” most strongly contributes to a mood of dread?
Amid frequent and thoughtful endeavors to remember; amid earnest struggles to regather some token of the state of seeming nothingness into which my soul had lapsed, there have been moments when I have dreamed of success; there have been brief, very brief periods when I have conjured up remembrances which the lucid reason of a later epoch assures me could have had reference only to that condition of seeming unconsciousness. These shadows of memory tell, indistinctly, of tall figures that lifted and bore me in silence down—down—still down—till a hideous dizziness oppressed me at the mere idea of the interminableness of the descent. They tell also of a vague horror at my heart, on account of that heart’s unnatural stillness. Then comes a sense of sudden motionlessness throughout all things; as if those who bore me (a ghastly train!) had outrun, in their descent, the limits of the limitless, and paused from the wearisomeness of their toil. After this I call to mind flatness and dampness; and that all is madness—the madness of a memory which busies itself among forbidden things.
a)
frequent and thoughtful endeavors to remember
b)
the lucid reason of a later epoch
c)
a vague horror at my heart
d)
I call to mind flatness and dampness
13.
Read the sentence from paragraph 26 of “The Pit and the Pendulum.”
I might as well have attempted to arrest an avalanche!
Based on the context, what is the most likely meaning of the word arrest?
a)
To hold
b)
To distract
c)
To put a stop to
d)
To place in handcuffs
14.
The historical setting of “The Pit and the Pendulum” emphasizes the regime’s —
a)
intellectual tolerance
b)
sense of justice
c)
sense of forgiveness
d)
reasoned laws
15.
Compared with the narrator of “The Minister’s Black Veil,” the narrator of “The Pit and the Pendulum” is —
a)
less reliable, making his story feel more mysterious
b)
less sympathetic, making readers question his motives more
c)
more objective in his telling of events, making his story more credible
d)
more aware of what is happening, making readers more suspicious of his role
16.
Which of the following themes is shared by both selections?
a)
Everyone fears the supernatural.
b)
Pride always comes with consequences.
c)
Society’s judgment can be detrimental.
d)
Cooperation benefits the community.
17.
Read this sentence from paragraph 43 of “The Minister’s Black Veil.”
Their instinctive dread caused him to feel, more strongly than aught else, that a preternatural horror was interwoven with the threads of the black crape.
Which two quotations from “The Pit and the Pendulum” express a similar mood of dread?
a)
Then silence, and stillness, and night were the universe. (paragraph 1)
b)
Arousing from the most profound of slumbers, we break the gossamer web of some dream. (paragraph 2)
c)
Then a pause in which all is blank. (paragraph 4)
d)
Shaking in every limb, I groped my way back to the wall; resolving there to perish rather than risk the terrors of the wells, of which my imagination now pictured many in various positions about the dungeon. (paragraph 13)
e)
For some minutes this fact occasioned me a world of vain trouble; vain indeed! for what could be of less importance, under the terrible circumstances which environed me, than the mere dimensions of my dungeon? (paragraph 15)
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