Author's Purpose & Theme
What is the main theme of The Man in the Well?
What is...
Dangers of conformity?
Capacity for cruelty within groups?
Psychological impact of power and responsibility?
Which quote from the story best supports the idea that the children felt a sense of guilt or shame about their actions?
A. "I was with a group of friends, playing hide and go seek or something when I found the well..."
B. "I only came up on my hands and knees, so that he couldn't see me..."
C. "...we wanted to know if he had money..."
D. "We didn't know his name, but we were beginning to know each other."
What is...
B. "I only came up on my hands and knees, so that he couldn't see me..."
Which of the following best summarizes the children's evolving attitude toward the man?
A. They initially were indifferent, but over time, they developed a plan to save him.
B. They went from being curious to being empathetic and concerned about his well-being.
C. They became increasingly cruel and manipulative, using the man's suffering for their own amusement.
D. They were always cruel to the man, but their interactions became more direct over time.
What is...
C. They became increasingly cruel and manipulative, using the man's suffering for their own amusement.
What can be inferred about why the children are upset when the man learns some of their names?
A. The man knowing their names threatens their sense of anonymity and makes the situation feel more personal.
B. They are worried the man will use their names to find their families.
C. They are angry that another child told the man their names.
D. They think the man will tell the police on them.
What is...
A. The man knowing their names threatens their sense of anonymity and makes the situation feel more personal.
The story begins with the narrator's adult reflection on a childhood event. How does this structural choice affect the reader's understanding of the narrative?
A. It creates a sense of detachment, making the events less impactful.
B. It establishes a suspenseful tone, as the reader knows from the beginning that something significant happened.
C. It provides a frame story that helps the reader understand the significance of the childhood memory.
D. It serves as an unreliable narrative, suggesting the narrator's memory is flawed.
What is...
B. It establishes a suspenseful tone, as the reader knows from the beginning that something significant happened.
How does the author's word choice in the first paragraph create a tone of unease?
A. The narrator's use of words like "abandoned," "well," and "calling out for help" immediately creates a sense of dread.
B. The narrator uses formal language to create a detached and clinical tone.
C. The narrator's mention of "playing hide and go seek" suggests a lighthearted tone that contrasts with the later events.
D. The author's use of phrases like "golden light" creates a warm, comforting tone.
What is...
A. The narrator's use of words like "abandoned," "well," and "calling out for help" immediately creates a sense of dread.
The well itself, a dark, hidden space that contains a trapped person, can be seen as this type of literary device representing the dark, hidden parts of human nature.
What is...
symbol
What is the main idea of the second paragraph?
A. The children's decision to not help the man was a group decision and not a single person's fault.
B. The narrator initially wanted to help the man.
C. The children were afraid of getting too close to the man.
D. The children lied to the man about the police coming to save him.
What is...
A. The children's decision to not help the man was a group decision and not a single person's fault.
What can the reader infer about the children's motivation for not helping the man?
A. They were afraid of their parents finding out and getting in trouble.
B. They were afraid of the man and saw him as a threat.
C. They feared the social consequences of stepping away from the group's decision.
D. They genuinely believed the man was not telling them the truth.
What is...
C. They feared the social consequences of stepping away from the group's decision.
The author immediately reveals that the children decide not to help the man. Why might the author reveal this at the beginning of the story?
What is...
to make readers focus on the reasons for the consequences of the children's choices, instead of wondering what they will decide
How does the author's decision to have the narrator reflect on his childhood experience as an adult contribute to the story's purpose?
A. It shows the narrator has a clear understanding of why he and his friends made the decision.
B. It highlights the narrator's lack of guilt or remorse about the event.
C. It emphasizes that the event has had a lasting and unsettling impact on the narrator's life.
D. It suggests the narrator has forgotten key details of the event over time.
What is...
C. It emphasizes that the event has had a lasting and unsettling impact on the narrator's life.
Which piece of text evidence most clearly illustrates the narrator's self-justification for not helping the man?
A. "...we looked around at each other and it was decided."
B. "I don't remember if we told ourselves a reason why we couldn't help him, but we had decided then."
C. "He said that the police were probably looking for him."
D. "I know that none of us ever saw the man in the well..."
What is...
B. "I don't remember if we told ourselves a reason why we couldn't help him, but we had decided then."
What text evidence shows the children abandoning the man in the well?
A. "We didn't know his name, but we were beginning to know each other."
B. "We didn't tell him our names. I don't remember why we did this, but we often lied to him."
C. "I know that none of us ever went back to the well. I know that"
D. "We looked around at each other and it was decided."
What is...
C. "I know that none of us ever went back to the well. I know that"
Based on the children's actions and the narrator's reflections, what is the most likely reason they did not tell an adult about the man in the well?
A. They were afraid the man would get them in trouble.
B. They were afraid of the consequences from their parents for being at the well.
C. They didn't think the man's situation was a big deal.
D. They knew their parents would think they were making it up.
What is...
B. They were afraid of the consequences from their parents for being at the well.
The author uses dialogue to show the man's desperation and the children's growing cruelty. Why is this important to how the story is told?
What is...
it helps the reader understand the man's fear and the children's cruelty directly, making the story feel more real and building up
The author's use of phrases like "we looked around at each other and it was decided" and "I know that none of us ever saw the man" primarily develops what theme?
What is...
Collective silence and complicity
Dangers of moral passivity, loss of innocence
Children instinctively distance themselves from responsibility
Which quote best reveals the shift in the power dynamic between the children and the man?
A. "I found the well, and then I heard the voice of the man in the well calling out for help."
B. "My friends and I found ourselves a stick and poked it down at the man."
C. "He said that he was starting to feel feverish, and that his legs were getting numb."
D. "We'd just stand there for a while and listen to his whimper, and then we'd say something about his wife."
What is...
A. "I found the well, and then I heard the voice of the man in the well calling out for help."
The story's central conflict is not man vs. nature (the man in the well), but rather an internal conflict within the narrator and a group conflict among the children, best described as "Man vs. ____."
What is...
Self
The story is told from the perspective of an adult narrator. What can the reader infer about the narrator's current feelings toward the event?
A. He feels a sense of nostalgia for his childhood friends.
B. He feels indifferent and has moved on from the event.
C. He is still deeply troubled and haunted by the cruelty of his actions.
D. He believes the man in the well was never real.
What is...
C. He is still deeply troubled and haunted by the cruelty of his actions.
The narrative shifts from a description of the children's initial discovery of the man to a detailed account of their daily visits. This shift in structure most likely serves to —
A. illustrate how the children's cruelty became a part of their routine.
B. show that the man's health was slowly improving over time.
C. create a sense of monotony, which bores the reader.
D. emphasize how the man's initial hope faded over time.
What is...
A. illustrate how the children's cruelty became a part of their routine.
Which of the following quotes best supports the theme that a group dynamic can lead individuals to commit cruel acts?
A. "I was nine when I discovered the man in the well in an abandoned farm-lot near my home."
B. "I only came up on my hands and knees, so that he couldn't see me."
C. "We didn't know his name, but we were beginning to know each other."
D. "Everyone, like myself, was probably on the verge of fetching a rope, or asking where we could find a ladder, but then we looked around at each other and it was decided."
What is...
D. "Everyone, like myself, was probably on the verge of fetching a rope, or asking where we could find a ladder, but then we looked around at each other and it was decided."
What text evidence best supports the idea that the children were becoming increasingly cruel?
A. "I told him about a friend of mine, a guy named Tom, and about how Tom lived on a farm and had a cow."
B. "He said he could not feel his legs anymore, and we made a game out of it, asking him to count his toes."
C. "He said to tell the police that his name was Mark."
D. "We didn't know his name, but we were beginning to know each other."
What is...
D. "We didn't know his name, but we were beginning to know each other."
Which of the following is the best summary of the story?
A. A group of children find a man trapped in a well and, despite their initial desire to help, they collectively decide to leave him, returning to torment him over a period of time.
B. A group of friends discovers an abandoned well and, out of curiosity, they explore it and find a lost man inside. They eventually get bored and forget about him.
C. A young boy finds a man trapped in a well and, afraid of getting in trouble, he keeps it a secret from his parents, but he eventually goes back and helps the man.
D. A group of children decide to prank a man in a well by lying to him and taking his money, but they eventually have a change of heart and get him help.
What is...
A. A group of children find a man trapped in a well and, despite their initial desire to help, they collectively decide to leave him, returning to torment him over a period of time.
The narrator states, "I know that none of us ever went back to the well. I know that." What can the reader infer from this sentence?
What is...
The children's silence and abandonment suggest they felt guilty but refused to take responsibility.
What is the most likely reason the author chose to end the story with the narrator's final reflection on the events?
A. To leave the reader with a sense of closure, as the narrator has fully processed the events.
B. To provide a final moral lesson about helping others in need.
C. To show that the narrator has successfully moved on from his childhood trauma.
D. To emphasize that the trauma of the event has had a lasting impact and is still unresolved.
What is...
D. To emphasize that the trauma of the event has had a lasting impact and is still unresolved.