CliffsNotes on Bradbury's Short Stories

Cliff Notes

• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
• eBook ISBN: 9780544180062
• Edition: 0
• Topic: Study Aids
• Subtopic: Study Guides

Quiz

1. In “All Summer in a Day,” why doesn’t Margot get to enjoy the rare Venusian sunshine?
   1. She dies before the sun appears.
   2. She is blind.
   3. She sleeps through it.
   4. The children have locked her in a closet.
2. In “Dark They Were, and Golden-eyed,” Harry Bittering and his family are stranded
   1. in the desert.
   2. on a Polynesian island.
   3. on Mars.
   4. on the moon.
3. In “Jack-in-the-Box,” Edwin's mother has taught him that
   1. he was born without a father.
   2. his father was Satan and was destroyed by God.
   3. the universe does not extend beyond their house.
   4. toys were created by the Devil to tempt small children.
4. In “The First Night of Lent,” Nick becomes a horrid and reckless driver when
   1. he drinks too much.
   2. he smokes too much.
   3. he stops drinking.
   4. he stops smoking.
5. In “The Great Ice Cream Suit,” Martinez wears the suit to attract a young woman, but she is instead more attracted to his
   1. haircut.
   2. nose.
   3. smile.
   4. wallet.
6. In “The Headpiece,” Andrew Lemon’s forehead is marred by what?
   1. A hole
   2. A scar
   3. A second face
   4. A tattoo
7. In “The Man Upstairs,” Koberman is killed not by the removal of his organs but by
   1. garlic in his chicken dinner.
   2. shards of colored glass sewn into his chest.
   3. silver coins sewn into his chest.
   4. undercooked chicken.
8. In “The Smile,” Tom, the protagonist, goes home with a piece of which famous painting?
   1. Flaming June
   2. Mona Lisa
   3. The Girl with the Pearl Earring
   4. Whistler’s Mother
9. In “The Watchful Poker Chip of H. Matisse,” the young people of the Cellar Septet find George Garvey’s lack of ______ refreshing.
   1. courtesy
   2. intellectualism
   3. modesty
   4. money
10. In “There Was an Old Woman,” Aunt Tildy thinks that she will never die if she doesn’t believe in what?
    1. Death
    2. God
    3. Heaven
    4. Hell
11. “The Crowd” begins right after the main character has
    1. been in a car accident.
    2. crashed his plane.
    3. murdered his wife.
    4. won an award.
12. The protagonist in “The Scythe” accidentally becomes the “new”
    1. Angel Gabriel.
    2. Christ.
    3. God of the Harvest.
    4. Grim Reaper.
13. The story “In a Season of Calm Weather” is about the protagonist’s interaction with which artist?
    1. El Greco
    2. Jackson Pollock
    3. Pablo Picasso
    4. Salvador Dalí
14. The title character in “The Emissary” is
    1. Bigelow, a dwarf who visits the Mirror Maze nightly.
    2. Dog, who brings Martin news from the outside.
    3. the Illustrated Man, who tells stories through his tattoos.
    4. Uncle Einar, a pilot.
15. What gift does “Uncle Einar” have?
    1. A prehensile tail
    2. Invisibility
    3. Mind-r...

Table of contents

• Title Page
• Contents
• Copyright
• About Bradbury’s Short Stories
• Summary and Analysis: Medicine for Melancholy
• “In a Season of Calm Weather”
• “The Dragon”
• “A Medicine for Melancholy”
• “The End of the Beginning”
• “The Wonderful Ice Cream Suit”
• “Fever Dream”
• “The Marriage Mender”
• “The Town Where Nobody Got Off”
• “A Scent of Sarsaparilla”
• “Icarus Montgolfier Wright”
• “The Headpiece”
• “Dark They Were, and Golden-eyed”
• “The Smile”
• “The First Night of Lent”
• “The Time of Going Away”
• “All Summer in a Day”
• “The Gift”
• “The Great Collision of Monday Last”
• “The Little Mice”
• “The Shore Line at Sunset”
• “The Strawberry Window”
• “The Day It Rained Forever”
• Summary and Analysis: The October Country
• “The Dwarf”
• “The Next in Line”
• “The Watchful Poker Chip of H. Matisse”
• “Skeleton”
• “The Jar”
• “The Lake”
• “The Emissary”
• “Touched with Fire”
• “The Small Assassin”
• “The Crowd”
• “Jack-in-the-Box”
• “The Scythe”
• “Uncle Einar”
• “The Wind”
• “The Man Upstairs”
• “There Was an Old Woman”
• “The Cistern”
• “Homecoming”
• “The Wonderful Death of Dudley Stone”
• Ray Bradbury Biography
• Critical Essay
• Understanding Bradbury’s Works
• Study Help
• Quiz
• Essay Questions