Answers and Explanations
1. B
2. A
3. A
4. D
5. B
6. B
7. D
8. B
9. A
10.A
Explanations
1. From lines 34 -35 what can be assumed about how the woman feels about her
husband?
A) She is in love with him but is inhibited.
B) She is revolted by him but tries to disguise it.
C) He makes her nervous.
D) Nothing, she is just afraid of heights
Both C) and D) are possible but the best answer is B). We know this especially from the word ‘writhed’. She did not want to be touched by her husband, in fact to be touched by him was for her intensely disagreeable and irksome. Also from the word ‘covered’ it is clear that she attempted to conceal these feelings from him.
2. From lines 1- 64 what can be inferred about the character of Lacey?
A) He is a very weak and effeminate man who bullies his wife.
B) He is a very strong person who is trying to help his wife overcome her fear of
heights.
C) He is very weak and dominated by his wife.
D) He is very insecure and is seeking help from his wife.
A) There is considerable evidence that Lacey is weak and not very masculine. For example his voice is high pitched (line 13). His weakness is also revealed in the fact that
he is frequently reminding Molly of his perceived strengths in an attempt to convince her and himself. Additionally, men who Lacey considers strong appear to have no time for him, as it was he tries to make contact with the coast guards who simply ignore him (lines 60-64). His bullying is not violent or abusive but quiet and persistent. We have the impression that he forces his wife to do things against her will. This is true in the incident he describes where he insisted she climb a small cliff saying that he had to be "firm" with
her (line 45).
3. What can be inferred about the couple’s financial situation?
A) They are on a strict budget.
B) They are not watching their money.
C) They are very poor.
D) They are wealthy.
A) The strongest evidence that they have limited funds for their holiday (it is possible that they are on their honeymoon although this is not clearly stated) comes across after Lacey bought his cane. Lacey has decided for them both that they should miss "tea" to make up for the cost (line 102). For the English ‘tea’ is the main meal of the day. This should not be confused with ‘a cup of tea’ or ‘morning or afternoon tea’.
4. From lines 65- 70 and elsewhere what is implied about the couple’s social class?
A) They are working class people.
B) They are middleclass and happy with that.
C) They are aristocrats that look down on the lower classes.
D) They are lower middleclass but want to move up.
D) In England people are largely class conscious. They are able to recognize one another by the way they dress and speak. Lacey is educated but pedantic and wants others to recognize him as well. He wants to show to the local people that he is somehow both above them and yet one of them; that is, he has pretensions in becoming a leader in the community once he has bought a villa in the area. The strongest impression we have that he wants to climb out of his class is when he instructs Molly to be friendly to an influential lawyer’s wife in the hope of gaining some advantage from it.
5. What can be assumed about the way Molly feels about the stick Lacey bought (lines 75-106)?
A) She was pleased it got it so cheaply.
B) She hates it because symbolizes his silliness, weakness and selfishness.
C) She thinks it’s a very useful object and is pleased for her husband.
D) She resents it because they will have to go without dinner to make up for the cost of it
The choice is between B) and D). Molly’s ill-feelings towards her husband are very deep and have been building up over a long period of time. The fact that they will not have tea to save money is just one of many incidents, and not the cause of her negative sentiments towards him. So the answer is B).
6. In general how would you describe Lacey’s tone when talking to his wife?
A) suspicious
B) patronizing
C) condescending
D) sympathetic
B) Patronizing is the best word to describe Lacey. It comes across most strongly in the rhetorical question tags used throughout the text to denote the sort of one sided conversations between the couple. Each tag in this context is used to obtain agreement through seemingly benign pressure. ‘Lacey was her lord and master, wasn’t he?’(Line 56). According to the Collins Cobuild English Dictionary "If someone patronizes you, they speak or behave towards you in a way which seems friendly, but which shows that they think they are superior to you in some way".
7. What can we infer that the voice in Molly’s head is insisting she do? (Lines114-121)
A) To see beauty in him.
B) To divorce Lacey.
C) To love cliffs and plants.
D) To push Lacey over the cliff.
D) is the only reasonable answer we can infer from the evidence found in the rest of the story . From line 119 we know that the voice in her head is recurring and insistent. It denotes also that Molly is probably mentally unstable and subject to hallucinations. We understand later, perhaps after the second reading, that the reason she was standing so close to him (Lines 19-25) in the opening sequences of the story was that she had planned to push him, but had not managed to muster the courage to do it. Even though she is terrified of heights she decides to ask to go up again the following day to see the samphire. Lacey believes she is adopting his passion for plants when in reality she is
simply looking for another occasion to be rid of him.
8. How do you think Molly feels about Lacey having no fear of heights? (Lines 127-131)
A) She admires it.
B) She is surprised by it but not impressed.
C) She thinks it makes up for his other failings.
D) She envies him.
B) Lacey talks all the time and is constantly convincing himself and others that he is someone strong physically and intellectually. It is likely that he exaggerates, at least Molly may think so, but in reference to his lack of fear of heights he is genuinely speaking the truth. This comes through in line 127: "It was quite true when he said that he had no fear of heights…" The use of the word ‘quite’ suggests that for once what he said was true. Molly appears to be surprised that he has this genuine strength in spite of his unmasculin nature. Nevertheless, it is not sufficient to make up for his weaknesses.
9. What will Lacey probably do after Molly pushed him? (Lines 142-180)
A) Make believe it was just an accident.
B) Leave her.
C) Stay with her but live in fear of her.
D) Try to help her.
This question is open to quite a bit of speculation and it is probably a matter of opinion. Lacey has realized something terrible and sinister about his wife and we can only guess what he will do next.
10. Why do you think Molly tried to push her husband off the cliff?
A) She feels trapped and there is no escape.
B) She hates his weakness.
C) She is in an abusive relationship.
D) She is mentally unstable.
A) The answer to this is mostly a combination of all four rather than just one. However, the answer that encapsulates the others is that she feels trapped. Lacey is quite insufferable and Molly has some sort of mental condition that prevents her from taking control of her own life and her marriage. Lacey has adopted the role as her "lord and master" simply because she is weak, and not because he is strong. Naturally she resents this and feels utterly trapped. Throughout the story she is trying to muster all her strength to be finally free of him.
2. A
3. A
4. D
5. B
6. B
7. D
8. B
9. A
10.A
Explanations
1. From lines 34 -35 what can be assumed about how the woman feels about her
husband?
A) She is in love with him but is inhibited.
B) She is revolted by him but tries to disguise it.
C) He makes her nervous.
D) Nothing, she is just afraid of heights
Both C) and D) are possible but the best answer is B). We know this especially from the word ‘writhed’. She did not want to be touched by her husband, in fact to be touched by him was for her intensely disagreeable and irksome. Also from the word ‘covered’ it is clear that she attempted to conceal these feelings from him.
2. From lines 1- 64 what can be inferred about the character of Lacey?
A) He is a very weak and effeminate man who bullies his wife.
B) He is a very strong person who is trying to help his wife overcome her fear of
heights.
C) He is very weak and dominated by his wife.
D) He is very insecure and is seeking help from his wife.
A) There is considerable evidence that Lacey is weak and not very masculine. For example his voice is high pitched (line 13). His weakness is also revealed in the fact that
he is frequently reminding Molly of his perceived strengths in an attempt to convince her and himself. Additionally, men who Lacey considers strong appear to have no time for him, as it was he tries to make contact with the coast guards who simply ignore him (lines 60-64). His bullying is not violent or abusive but quiet and persistent. We have the impression that he forces his wife to do things against her will. This is true in the incident he describes where he insisted she climb a small cliff saying that he had to be "firm" with
her (line 45).
3. What can be inferred about the couple’s financial situation?
A) They are on a strict budget.
B) They are not watching their money.
C) They are very poor.
D) They are wealthy.
A) The strongest evidence that they have limited funds for their holiday (it is possible that they are on their honeymoon although this is not clearly stated) comes across after Lacey bought his cane. Lacey has decided for them both that they should miss "tea" to make up for the cost (line 102). For the English ‘tea’ is the main meal of the day. This should not be confused with ‘a cup of tea’ or ‘morning or afternoon tea’.
4. From lines 65- 70 and elsewhere what is implied about the couple’s social class?
A) They are working class people.
B) They are middleclass and happy with that.
C) They are aristocrats that look down on the lower classes.
D) They are lower middleclass but want to move up.
D) In England people are largely class conscious. They are able to recognize one another by the way they dress and speak. Lacey is educated but pedantic and wants others to recognize him as well. He wants to show to the local people that he is somehow both above them and yet one of them; that is, he has pretensions in becoming a leader in the community once he has bought a villa in the area. The strongest impression we have that he wants to climb out of his class is when he instructs Molly to be friendly to an influential lawyer’s wife in the hope of gaining some advantage from it.
5. What can be assumed about the way Molly feels about the stick Lacey bought (lines 75-106)?
A) She was pleased it got it so cheaply.
B) She hates it because symbolizes his silliness, weakness and selfishness.
C) She thinks it’s a very useful object and is pleased for her husband.
D) She resents it because they will have to go without dinner to make up for the cost of it
The choice is between B) and D). Molly’s ill-feelings towards her husband are very deep and have been building up over a long period of time. The fact that they will not have tea to save money is just one of many incidents, and not the cause of her negative sentiments towards him. So the answer is B).
6. In general how would you describe Lacey’s tone when talking to his wife?
A) suspicious
B) patronizing
C) condescending
D) sympathetic
B) Patronizing is the best word to describe Lacey. It comes across most strongly in the rhetorical question tags used throughout the text to denote the sort of one sided conversations between the couple. Each tag in this context is used to obtain agreement through seemingly benign pressure. ‘Lacey was her lord and master, wasn’t he?’(Line 56). According to the Collins Cobuild English Dictionary "If someone patronizes you, they speak or behave towards you in a way which seems friendly, but which shows that they think they are superior to you in some way".
7. What can we infer that the voice in Molly’s head is insisting she do? (Lines114-121)
A) To see beauty in him.
B) To divorce Lacey.
C) To love cliffs and plants.
D) To push Lacey over the cliff.
D) is the only reasonable answer we can infer from the evidence found in the rest of the story . From line 119 we know that the voice in her head is recurring and insistent. It denotes also that Molly is probably mentally unstable and subject to hallucinations. We understand later, perhaps after the second reading, that the reason she was standing so close to him (Lines 19-25) in the opening sequences of the story was that she had planned to push him, but had not managed to muster the courage to do it. Even though she is terrified of heights she decides to ask to go up again the following day to see the samphire. Lacey believes she is adopting his passion for plants when in reality she is
simply looking for another occasion to be rid of him.
8. How do you think Molly feels about Lacey having no fear of heights? (Lines 127-131)
A) She admires it.
B) She is surprised by it but not impressed.
C) She thinks it makes up for his other failings.
D) She envies him.
B) Lacey talks all the time and is constantly convincing himself and others that he is someone strong physically and intellectually. It is likely that he exaggerates, at least Molly may think so, but in reference to his lack of fear of heights he is genuinely speaking the truth. This comes through in line 127: "It was quite true when he said that he had no fear of heights…" The use of the word ‘quite’ suggests that for once what he said was true. Molly appears to be surprised that he has this genuine strength in spite of his unmasculin nature. Nevertheless, it is not sufficient to make up for his weaknesses.
9. What will Lacey probably do after Molly pushed him? (Lines 142-180)
A) Make believe it was just an accident.
B) Leave her.
C) Stay with her but live in fear of her.
D) Try to help her.
This question is open to quite a bit of speculation and it is probably a matter of opinion. Lacey has realized something terrible and sinister about his wife and we can only guess what he will do next.
10. Why do you think Molly tried to push her husband off the cliff?
A) She feels trapped and there is no escape.
B) She hates his weakness.
C) She is in an abusive relationship.
D) She is mentally unstable.
A) The answer to this is mostly a combination of all four rather than just one. However, the answer that encapsulates the others is that she feels trapped. Lacey is quite insufferable and Molly has some sort of mental condition that prevents her from taking control of her own life and her marriage. Lacey has adopted the role as her "lord and master" simply because she is weak, and not because he is strong. Naturally she resents this and feels utterly trapped. Throughout the story she is trying to muster all her strength to be finally free of him.
posted by Ray Genet at 2:54 AM
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