ESSAY TASK:Â Â
The ending of Henry Slesarâs short story Examination Day is not what one might expect.
By looking closely at the story, show how the author leads us to the unexpected ending.
You are going to write a Critical Evaluation of Examination Day by Henry Slesar,
but before you do that, you should consider the following questions.
Working on your own, try to come up with answers to the following questions.
1. How would you describe the mood of Mr and Mrs Jordan at the opening of the story?
(Write down any of the following which you think are appropriate)
Are they: cheerful nervous neutral worried happy sad scared
Find some evidence to support what you think (CLUE: Look at the adjectives and adverbs that Slesar uses in the story)
2. Why do you think Mr and Mrs Jordan are in this mood?
3. He fingered the topmost comic of the stack, but seemed uninterested in the colorful squares of fast-paced action.
He wandered towards the window,and peered gloomily at the veil of mist that shrouded the glass.
Use a dictionary to find the meaning of the words veil, wander, gloomily, and shroud.
How is Dickie feeling at this point in the story, and how do these words give us a clue to the ending of the story?
4. What evidence is there in the first section of the story that Dickie is quite intelligent? (Use quotations to support your answer)
5. Thousands of children take this test every day. The Government wants to know how smart you are.
Do you think that tests are a good thing in school?
Should teachers test you to make sure you are learning, or should you not have to bother?
6. Normally, we are pleased when we pass a test, do you think Dickie will pass this test?
(CLUE: It may help you to think of the meaning of the word âtest.
See what the Dictionary says a test is)
7. The room was as cold and official as a courtroom, with long benches flanking metal tables.
This is how the writer describes the place that Dickie must sit the test.
Does it sound like a friendly place? (Find some more evidence to support your answer)
8. Why do you think Dickie is given a drink before sitting his test, and is this normal when you are sitting a test?
9. Complete this sequence. One, four, seven, ten
This is the first question that Dickie is asked.
What is the next number in the sequence, and do you think it is a difficult question?
10. We regret to inform you that his intelligence quotient has exceeded the Government regulation, according to Rule 84,
Section 5, of the New Code)
Which word tells us that Mr. Jordan is about to get bad news?)
What does intelligence quotient mean? (Use a dictionary, or ask a teacher if you can't work it out)
What do you think that âRule 84, Section 5, of the New Codeâ is?
11. Why did Dickie fail the test, what happened to him, and do you think this was fair?