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Unit 3 - Practice Quiz

ENG606

1 Who is the author of the short story collection 'Dance of the Happy Shades'?

A. Margaret Atwood
B. Alice Munro
C. Carol Shields
D. Mavis Gallant

2 In which year was Alice Munro awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature?

A. 2010
B. 2013
C. 2015
D. 2009

3 Which region serves as the primary setting for most of Alice Munro's fiction, including this story?

A. The American South
B. Southern Ontario
C. Maritime Provinces
D. British Columbia

4 What literary genre is Alice Munro primarily associated with?

A. The Epic Poem
B. The Novel
C. The Short Story
D. The Stage Play

5 In the story 'The Dance of the Happy Shades', who is Miss Marsalles?

A. The narrator's aunt
B. A piano teacher
C. A school principal
D. A dance instructor

6 From what narrative perspective is the story told?

A. First-person
B. Third-person omniscient
C. Third-person limited
D. Second-person

7 How does the narrator’s mother generally feel about Miss Marsalles' parties?

A. She enjoys them immensely
B. She finds them excruciating and socially awkward
C. She sees them as a great networking opportunity
D. She is indifferent to them

8 What physical change has happened to Miss Marsalles' living situation over time?

A. She has moved to a larger mansion
B. She has moved to a smaller, duplex half
C. She has moved into a retirement home
D. She has moved to the countryside

9 Which group of unexpected guests arrives at the recital?

A. Famous musicians
B. Children from the Greenhill School
C. Miss Marsalles' wealthy relatives
D. Local politicians

10 What is the significance of the 'Greenhill School' children in the context of the story's social themes?

A. They represent the wealthy elite
B. They represent the 'other' that makes the mothers uncomfortable
C. They represent the future of classical music
D. They represent the narrator's best friends

11 What piece of music is played by the girl from the Greenhill School?

A. Moonlight Sonata
B. The Dance of the Happy Shades
C. Fur Elise
D. Clair de Lune

12 The title 'The Dance of the Happy Shades' is likely a reference to an opera by which composer?

A. Mozart
B. Christoph Willibald Gluck
C. Beethoven
D. Bach

13 How does the narrator's mother describe the performance of the Greenhill girl?

A. She admits it was beautiful
B. She dismisses it as a trick or purely mechanical
C. She cries openly
D. She invites the girl to dinner

14 What defines the 'Southern Ontario Gothic' style often attributed to Munro?

A. Supernatural monsters and castles
B. A focus on the grotesque or repressed behind ordinary small-town life
C. High-tech futuristic societies
D. Tales of the Wild West

15 What motivates the mothers to continue sending their children to Miss Marsalles despite their dislike of her?

A. Her lessons are incredibly expensive and prestigious
B. A mix of pity, obligation, and habit
C. She is the only teacher in town
D. She bribes them

16 What gift is traditionally given to Miss Marsalles by the students?

A. Cash
B. Useless toiletries or ornaments
C. New piano music
D. Groceries

17 Describe Miss Marsalles' sister.

A. She is a famous opera singer
B. She has suffered a stroke and is bedridden
C. She is the strict disciplinarian of the house
D. She lives in Europe

18 What season does the recital take place in?

A. Winter
B. June
C. October
D. Early Spring

19 What literary device is prominent in the narrator's description of the 'shadows' and the atmosphere of the house?

A. Hyperbole
B. Imagery
C. Alliteration
D. Onomatopoeia

20 How does Miss Marsalles react to the dwindling number of 'regular' students?

A. She becomes bitter and angry
B. She remains oblivious or naively optimistic
C. She decides to retire
D. She advertises aggressively

21 What distinguishes the Greenhill girl’s piano playing from the other students?

A. It is filled with mistakes
B. It is technically assured and musical
C. It is too loud
D. It is extremely slow

22 The term 'Shades' in the title can be interpreted as a metaphor for:

A. The trees in the garden
B. Ghosts or spirits, and the socially invisible
C. Sunglasses
D. Different colors of paint

23 Which thematic conflict is central to the story?

A. Man vs. Nature
B. Art for social status vs. Art for its own sake
C. War vs. Peace
D. Science vs. Religion

24 What does the narrator realize at the end of the story regarding Miss Marsalles?

A. That Miss Marsalles is actually rich
B. That Miss Marsalles inhabits a different world where music is the only reality
C. That Miss Marsalles hates children
D. That Miss Marsalles is a fraud

25 How is the food served at the party described?

A. Gourmet and expensive
B. Heavy, old-fashioned, and unappetizing
C. Simple and healthy
D. Store-bought and cheap

26 What is the primary emotion the narrator feels towards her mother during the car ride home?

A. Pride
B. Anger
C. Estrangement/Distance
D. Amusement

27 Alice Munro is often compared to which Russian writer?

A. Leo Tolstoy
B. Anton Chekhov
C. Fyodor Dostoevsky
D. Vladimir Nabokov

28 What does the piano symbolize in the story?

A. A weapon
B. A mechanism of social torture
C. A bridge between the physical and spiritual
D. A piece of expensive furniture

29 The story suggests that for the mothers, the recital is primarily:

A. A celebration of talent
B. A social ritual of endurance
C. A religious ceremony
D. A political rally

30 Which word best describes the tone of the narrator?

A. Hysterical
B. Observant and reflective
C. Violent
D. Romantic

31 The collection 'Dance of the Happy Shades' won which prestigious Canadian award?

A. The Giller Prize
B. The Governor General's Award
C. The Booker Prize
D. The Pulitzer Prize

32 Miss Marsalles' hair is described as:

A. Sleek and black
B. Frizzy and red (later grey)
C. Short and blonde
D. Covered by a wig

33 Why is the narrator's mother concerned about the neighborhood Miss Marsalles lives in?

A. It is too expensive
B. It is declining socially
C. It is too far away
D. It is under construction

34 What does the 'Dance of the Happy Shades' signify about the disabled girl?

A. She is happy only when dancing
B. Her spirit is free through music, despite her limitations
C. She is a ghost
D. She is mocking the audience

35 The structure of a typical Munro story, including this one, often leads to:

A. A violent climax
B. A surprise twist ending
C. An epiphany or quiet revelation
D. A cliffhanger

36 How does Miss Marsalles treat the Greenhill children compared to her other students?

A. She hides them in the back
B. She treats them with the same respect and expectation
C. She is condescending to them
D. She refuses to let them play

37 The narrator's mother claims to have a headache during the party. This is likely:

A. A symptom of the flu
B. A psychosomatic reaction to her social discomfort
C. Caused by loud music
D. Caused by the heat alone

38 What is the irony of the 'Happy Shades' title?

A. The story is actually a comedy
B. The 'shades' (marginalized people) possess a joy the 'normal' people lack
C. The shades are actually sunglasses
D. There is no irony

39 Which stylistic element is NOT characteristic of Alice Munro?

A. Complex female characters
B. Magical Realism
C. Detailed setting descriptions
D. Non-linear timelines

40 What does the narrator mean by the 'other country' at the end of the story?

A. France
B. The afterlife
C. The realm of pure art and music
D. The Greenhill School

41 The story criticizes the values of:

A. The working class
B. The suburban middle class
C. The aristocracy
D. The rural farmers

42 Miss Marsalles' inability to recognize social cues makes her appear:

A. Malicious
B. Dignified but pathetic to the mothers
C. Dangerous
D. Wealthy

43 Alice Munro grew up in a town similar to the settings of her stories. What was its name?

A. Wingham
B. Toronto
C. Montreal
D. Vancouver

44 The perspective of the narrator is best described as:

A. An adult recalling childhood
B. A child speaking in the present tense
C. An elderly woman
D. A ghost

45 What does the mother say about Miss Marsalles after the party?

A. 'We must invite her to dinner.'
B. 'Poor thing.'
C. 'She is a genius.'
D. 'She is very rich.'

46 The Greenhill girl's hair is described as:

A. Long and flowing
B. Bright red
C. Smooth and perfectly groomed
D. Rough and unstyled

47 Which theme is highlighted by the passage of time in the story?

A. Technological progress
B. The inevitability of decay and change
C. The victory of good over evil
D. Political revolution

48 What is the function of the specific details about the house's smell?

A. To show Miss Marsalles is a bad cook
B. To create an atmosphere of stagnation and the past
C. To suggest a gas leak
D. To show the house is new

49 The conflict between the narrator and her mother is:

A. Explicit and loud
B. Silent and internal
C. Resolved happily
D. Non-existent

50 Ultimately, 'Dance of the Happy Shades' is a story about:

A. How to play the piano
B. The gap between social appearance and inner reality
C. Real estate in Toronto
D. Educational reform