Show:
Characters
Short Answer 1
Short Answer 2
Quote ID
Literary Devices
100
How are Zeena and Mattie related?
They are cousins.
100
What is one problem with Ethan and Zeena's relationship?
They do not communicate They have hidden resentments Their unspoken feelings make them tense They did not marry for the right reasons
100
Why is the narrator forced to spend a night at Ethan's house?
They get caught in a snowstorm and cannot make it all the way back
100
"You waited until my back was turned and took the thing I value most" Name (a) The speaker and (b) the significance/meaning
Speaker: Zeena Significance: Zeena says this to Mattie when she finds the broken pieces of the pickle dish. Mattie confesses that it was her fault for taking the dish out in the first place. This statement has a double-meaning because Zeena is not talking about just her dish, but her husband as well.
100

What is a frame story?

A story told within another story

200
Who does Zeena say must drive Mattie to the train station?
Jotham
200
How does Zeena act "in charge" in her relationship with Ethan?
She often talks down to him, bosses him around, does not act grateful, makes snide remarks, acts passive-agressive
200
Give 3 descriptive words to describe the setting of the novel
Cold, snowy, barren, empty, isolated, desolate, lifeless
200
"I want you to stay and fix that stove in Mattie's room before the girl gets here. It hasn't worked right for nearly a month now." Name (a) The speaker and (b) the significance/meaning
Speaker: Zeena Significance: Zeena says this to Ethan when he tells her that he wants to be the one to drive Mattie to the train station. Zeena makes this excuse because she is uncomfortable with the thought of Ethan driving Mattie - perhaps because she knows what is going on between the two.
200

What is a novella?

A short novel

300
Who is the narrator staying with during his time in Starkfield?
Ruth Hale, the widow in town.
300
Why does Ethan change places with Mattie at the last minute before they sled down the hill?
He wants to hit the tree first so perhaps Mattie will have a chance at surviving.
300
What was the lie that Ethan was going to tell Andrew Hale about his needing money?
He was going to say that Zeena just came back from the doctor with news that she hired a new girl, and he didn't have enough money to pay her yet.
300
"He realized that he didn't even have enough money to go West with Mattie. The facts closed in on him like prison wardens handcuffing a convict." Name (a) The speaker and (b) the significance/meaning
Speaker: The Narrator Significance: This is how Ethan feels when he realizes that he does not have enough money to run away with Mattie like he wanted. His use of the metaphor as a prisoner shows us that the thought of having to live with Zeena and without Mattie is like a prison sentence to him - he dreads it.
300

From what TWO points of view is the story told? 

First-person and third-person limited

400
Give 4 qualities to describe Zeena's character.
Bitter, Cranky, unhappy, sick, passive-agressive, tense, anxious
400
Why does suicide seem like a logical answer for Ethan and Mattie?
They have exhausted all other options. They were not able to run away because Ethan didn't have enough money. Zeena won't change her mind about making Mattie leave, and suicide seems like the only option left for them to be together.
400
What are the physical difference between Zeena and Mattie? (name 2 things for each character)
-Zeena has yellowish-gray skin, Mattie's is rosy and pink -Zeena is old, Mattie is much younger -Zeena is frail and sick looking, while Mattie looks active and healthy
400
"He no longer believed that Zeena's condition was serious. He saw her trip to Bettsbridge as a plot hatched by her and her relatives." Name (a) The speaker and (b) the significance/meaning
Speaker: The Narrator Significance: This is how Ethan feels after Zeena tells him that she has hired a new girl who is coming tomorrow. Ethan is absolutely furious because this means that Mattie has to leave immediately. He starts to question how sick Zeena really is, and wonders if this is just part of a plot she has to get Mattie out of their house.
400

Name one lesson we can learn from the themes in this novel.

-Circumstances can defeat you -It's up to you to make something of your life -Marriage should be a very carefully made decision

500

Explain why Ethan is considered to be a tragic hero. What are his tragic flaws?

heroic qualities- strong, handsome, caring, steadfast

flaws- hesitant, lack of courage, love

500
What are 3 causes for Ethan's unhappiness?
-His sick wife prevented him from achieving his dreams -Never went to college and moved to the city like he wanted -Married for the wrong reasons -He has to do the housework that Zeena cannot do -Cannot be with the one woman that he loves -(in the end) he has to live with his bitter wife and paralyzed lover
500
What are the differences between Mattie and Zeena's personality?
-Zeena is bitter, angry, cranky, unhappy, complains a lot, self-absorbed, unkind. -Mattie is cheerful, positive, happy, hard-working, pleasant, sweet.
500
"If Mattie had died, Ethan might have lived" Name (a) The speaker and (b) the significance/meaning
Speaker: Ruth Hale Significance: Ruth Hale realizes that it is incredibly hurtful for Ethan to see Mattie in such pain day after day. It is a pain he cannot escape because she lives with them - and he has to see it and remember it every single day. This has been very hard for Ethan, so hard that he has practically died inside. Ruth is saying that it might have been easier on Ethan if Mattie had just died.
500

What is the ironic part about the end of the novel?

The ending is ironic because Ethan ended up with exactly what he did NOT want. He wanted to leave his wife and be happy with the one woman he really loved (Mattie) but instead, he got stuck in a situation that is the exact opposite.