Reading Check and Short Answer questions on key points are designed for guided reading assignments, in-class review, formative assessment, quizzes, and more.

Reading Check

1. Upon their first meeting, what made Parker’s wife stare at Parker with a “stupefied smile of shock”? (Paragraph 10)

2. What job did Parker have when he met his wife?

3. What happened to the tractor during Parker’s revelation at his employer’s house?

4. Which facial feature is initially missing from the image that Parker desires?

5. Upon reflection, what does Parker realize that he has obeyed throughout his life?

6. What does Parker whisper in response to Sarah Ruth’s question, “Who’s there?”

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. Under which circumstances did Parker meet his wife? What did he think about her after their first meeting?

2. What sight does Parker recall seeing at the fair when he was 14? How did this experience shape his identity?

3. Summarize how Parker began to court Sarah. Why was he surprised by the development of their relationship?

4. Which idea does Parker become fixated on? Describe how he deals with this fixation.

5. Upon reflection, what does Parker realize that he wanted in his relationship with his wife? Does he manage to do this at the end of the story? Why or why not?