Farewell to a Ghost – General Understanding Quiz

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Approximate Reading Times

Quick Read: under 5 minutes
Short Story: 5 to 30 minutes
Novelette: 30 to 90 minutes
Novella: 1.5 to 2.5 hours

The Soft Touch of Grass
Short Story by Luigi Pirandello. A “not old and yet no longer young” man who has been alienated from his family following the death of his wife spends his days watching children play in a park. One day, a misunderstanding by a young girl sends him home in misery.
The Open Window
Short Story by Saki. A man with a nervous condition goes to stay in a peaceful country village. He visits a family his sister has written a letter of introduction to, where a young woman plays a cruel joke that causes him to run from their house in horror.
Cold Spring
Short Story by Aharon Appelfeld. At the end of World War 2, six Jews emerge from their forest hiding place and feast on food and alcohol abandoned by departing soldiers. They then join a long line of refugees, their presence among whom is met with surprise, prejudice and kindness.

Spunk
Short Story by Zora Neale Hurston. A mild-mannered man is killed when he bravely but foolishly confronts his cheating wife and her macho lover. Several weeks later, there is a rumor that the dead man has “sneaked back from Hell” and sure enough, his killer soon suffers a gruesome “accident”.
Woman Hollering Creek
Short Story by Sandra Cisneros. A Mexican woman finds the grass no greener when she marries and moves to a town “on the other side”. Sadly, poverty, language and distance leave her with nobody to turn to when her dreams of love and passion become a nightmare.
The House on Mango Street / Those Who Don’t / Alicia and I Talking…
Three Vignettes by Sandra Cisneros. Each deals with an aspect of "place". A Mexican-American family moves to a new neighborhood that most outsiders consider dangerous. Their small house is special because they own it. A year later, the protagonist wonders why the new house still doesn’t feel like "home".
The Kitemaker
Quick Read by Ruskin Bond. An old man in a once rural Indian village lays back and reflects on how much the world has changed and his life as a professional kitemaker . His only joy in life is spending time with and making kites for his young grandson.

The Gilded Six-Bits
Short Story by Zora Neale Hurston. Two young newlyweds have what appears to be an almost prefect marriage until a boastful newcomer opens an ice-cream parlor in their small Southern town. Their bliss is interrupted when the man, who appears wealthy and sophisticated, seduces the wife with promises of gold..
The Street-sweeping Show
Short Story by Feng Jicai. A Chinese Mayor, surrounded by groveling officials, puts on an artificial media show to be seen supporting National Cleanup Week. The carefully choreographed newspaper and T.V. shoot is held in the Central Square, which has already been swept clean by the town population.
The Canterville Ghost
Novelette by Oscar Wilde. An American family disrupts the peaceful existence of a ghost that has happily haunted a British house for over three hundred years. They not only refuse to be scared, but turn the tables with a series of practical jokes that leave the ghost humiliated and dejected.