Narrative Assignment
Assignment 3
• Read the first half of James Thurber’s My Life
and Hard Times, chapters 1-5; complete the
study guide questions below. I will quiz you
on the content of the reading in class.
• Memorize Emily Dickinson’s “Hate and
Love,” stanzas 1 and 2.
• Be sure to write a journal entry this week on
one of the topics listed in the study guide.
• Finish writing your personal narrative essay.
The essay could be an extension of one of
your journal entries. Be sure to use the reading selection as a model for your
own writing. The essay should use good detail, dialog and description. The
essay should be typed in 12 font, double spaced, Times New Roman. If
handwritten, please write on every other line of loose leaf paper. Your name,
title of your essay, and the date should be printed on the upper right hand
corner. The length should be about 400–800 words. Before handing it in, attach
the grade sheet, which is posted under “Materials Needed” on the assignment
web page.
Long Range Assignment
Choose a book to read for your book report. If you have not told me the title of the
book that you have chosen, please do so next week. The book report will be due the
third Friday in January.
Boys are beyond the range of anybody's sure understanding, at least when they are between the ages of 18
months and 90 years. —James Thurber 1
“My Life and Hard Times”
By James Thurber
Multiple Choice Questions for Chapters 1-5
“The Night the Bed Fell”
1. The first sentence of this story may be best described as ___. (Look up any
words that you do not know.)
a) anesis or humorous irony
b) hyperbole or exaggeration
c) satire
d) understatement
e) foreshadowing
2. Which of the following best describes Thurber’s first cousin Briggs Beall?
a) a light sleeper
b) a hypochondriac
c) a passive aggressive person
d) a violent person
e) a suspicious person
3. Which of the following best describes Thurber’s first cousin Aunt Grace
Shoaf?
a) proud
b) paranoid
c) determined
d) angry
e) stingy
4. The situation of the night is called a gigantic jigsaw puzzle in the last paragraph
mainly because ___.
a) The night was a sort of mystery as no one knew what was going on.
b) The night was noisy and chaotic.
c) It was all really a game.
d) The dog had tried to bite Briggs Beall.
e) The missing piece of the puzzle was the grandfather.
5. The format of this essay is mainly ___.
a) argumentative or persuasive
b) narrative
c) expository
Boys are beyond the range of anybody's sure understanding, at least when they are between the ages of 18
months and 90 years. —James Thurber 2
d) descriptive
e) comparing
The Car We Had to Push
6. What seemed so strange or humorous to the narrator (Thurber) about the
grandfather’s statement that “Zenas died of the chestnut blight in ‘66”?
a) The grandfather knew that there really had been no chestnut blight in
1866.
b) The grandfather had previously been insisting that Zenas was dead.
c) It was a strange way to die.
d) The father had been trying to convince him that Zenas had not died and
the grandfather had formerly believed him.
e) The grandfather was usually calm and collected and this was said in a
moment of abrupt anger.
The Night the Ghost Got in
7. Why did the mother throw a shoe into the window of the neighbor’s house?
a) It was retaliation against the neighbor Bodwell for being so bad-tempered.
b) It was retaliation against the neighbor for throwing a shoe at their
window.
c) She wanted to catch the neighbor’s aXention and urge them to call the
police.
d) She was impulsive and had a mild “aXack.”
e) She enjoyed throwing shoes at windows.
8. How are the policemen characterized in this chapter?
a) bumbling
b) uneducated
c) suspicious
d) all of the above
e) none of the above
More Alarms at Night
9. Why did Roy go to his father late at night and say, “Buck, your time has
come”?
a) He was aXempting to get into the father’s room without being noticed, but
then was noticed.
b) He was actually delirious.
c) He was playing a prank.
d) The narrator (Thurber) had told him to.
Boys are beyond the range of anybody's sure understanding, at least when they are between the ages of 18
months and 90 years. —James Thurber 3
e) The mother had told him to.
10. Which of the following best identifies the mother’s aXitude toward the father
as they are characterized in this story (respectively)?
a) slightly intolerant
b) very frightened
c) somewhat patronizing
d) extremely disdainful
e) rather encouraging
Short Answer Questions
1. A successful essay will conjure up images in the reader’s mind. Notice the
descriptive details in this essay, particularly those found in describing Briggs
Beall awakening out of sleep. Write down at least four different kinds of
sensory words (sight, sound, smell, taste, touch) used in the description.
2. The aXitude that the author takes toward his material is called tone. What is
the tone of Thurber’s stories? Write down a brief excerpt from the essay that
illustrates tone.
3. My Life and Hard Times is ostensibly Thurber’s autobiography, yet there are
details in his stories that make the reader suspicious. Name some details of
any of the stories that you have read that you think are either exaggerated or
untrue.
Boys are beyond the range of anybody's sure understanding, at least when they are between the ages of 18
months and 90 years. —James Thurber 4
“My Life and Hard Times”
By James Thurber
Multiple Choice Questions for Chapters 1-5
“The Night the Bed Fell”
1. The first sentence of this story may be best described as ___. (Look up any
words that you do not know.)
a) anesis or humorous irony
b) hyperbole or exaggeration
c) satire
d) understatement
e) foreshadowing
2. Which of the following best describes Thurber’s first cousin Briggs Beall?
a) a light sleeper
b) a hypochondriac
c) a passive aggressive person
d) a violent person
e) a suspicious person
3. Which of the following best describes Thurber’s first cousin Aunt Grace
Shoaf?
a) proud
b) paranoid
c) determined
d) angry
e) stingy
4. The situation of the night is called a gigantic jigsaw puzzle in the last paragraph
mainly because ___.
a) The night was a sort of mystery as no one knew what was going on.
b) The night was noisy and chaotic.
c) It was all really a game.
d) The dog had tried to bite Briggs Beall.
e) The missing piece of the puzzle was the grandfather.
5. The format of this essay is mainly ___.
Boys are beyond the range of anybody's sure understanding, at least when they are between the ages of 18
months and 90 years. —James Thurber 5
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
argumentative or persuasive
narrative
expository
descriptive
comparing
The Car We Had to Push
6. What seemed so strange or humorous to the narrator (Thurber) about the
grandfather’s statement that “Zenas died of the chestnut blight in ‘66”?
a) The grandfather knew that there really had been no chestnut blight in
1866.
b) The grandfather had previously been insisting that Zenas was dead.
c) It was a strange way to die.
d) The father had been trying to convince him that Zenas had not died and
the grandfather had formerly believed him.
e) The grandfather was usually calm and collected and this was said in a
moment of abrupt anger.
The Night the Ghost Got in
7. Why did the mother throw a shoe into the window of the neighbor’s house?
a) It was retaliation against the neighbor Bodwell for being so bad-tempered.
b) It was retaliation against the neighbor for throwing a shoe at their
window.
c) She wanted to catch the neighbor’s aXention and urge them to call the
police.
d) She was impulsive and had a mild “aXack.”
e) She enjoyed throwing shoes at windows.
8. How are the policemen characterized in this chapter?
a) bumbling
b) uneducated
c) suspicious
d) all of the above
e) none of the above
More Alarms at Night
9. Why did Roy go to his father late at night and say, “Buck, your time has
come”?
a) He was aXempting to get into the father’s room without being noticed, but
then was noticed.
Boys are beyond the range of anybody's sure understanding, at least when they are between the ages of 18
months and 90 years. —James Thurber 6
b)
c)
d)
e)
He was actually delirious.
He was playing a prank.
The narrator (Thurber) had told him to.
The mother had told him to.
10. Which of the following best identifies the mother’s aXitude toward the father
as they are characterized in this story (respectively)?
a) slightly intolerant
b) very frightened
c) somewhat patronizing
d) extremely disdainful
e) rather encouraging
Short Answer Questions
1. A successful essay will conjure up images in the reader’s mind. Notice the
descriptive details in this essay, particularly those found in describing Briggs
Beall awakening out of sleep. Write down at least four different kinds of
sensory words (sight, sound, smell, taste, touch) used in the description.
2. The aXitude that the author takes toward his material is called tone. What is
the tone of Thurber’s stories? Write down a brief excerpt from the essay that
illustrates tone.
3. My Life and Hard Times is ostensibly Thurber’s autobiography, yet there are
details in his stories that make the reader suspicious. Name some details of
any of the stories that you have read that you think are either exaggerated or
untrue.
Essay Assignment due on December 2
You will be writing another essay of about 500 words that relates an event that,
like Thurber’s chaotic night, resulted from a misunderstanding, or a humorous
event that happened inside the family circle. Be sure to use detail, description
and dialog to keep the essay lively. This week, however, you will just think of a
topic.
Boys are beyond the range of anybody's sure understanding, at least when they are between the ages of 18
months and 90 years. —James Thurber 7