Multiple Choice Explanations: "A Smile to Remember"

1.)    The correct answer is B because the poem is first started off this way in order to foreshadow or set up the mother’s feelings and therefore clarify the next lines; therefore A cannot be the answer. The repetition of “around and around”, and the visual that the line provides enhances the theme of entrapment by this feeling of monotony, therefore C cannot be the answer. The fish’s actions clearly show that they don’t have the ability to venture anywhere but the containment of the bowl, therefore D cannot be the answer. The fish are seen throughout the poem representing the mother’s burden; therefore E cannot be the answer. The narrator is specifically referencing his mother and only exists as a character to reveal the mother’s feelings; therefore B is the correct answer.

2.)    The mother’s constant obsession with keeping her son happy along with their truly dreary situation show that the mother is discontented with her life but avoidant of acknowledging her true feelings, therefore C is the correct answer.

3.)    The word “can” on its own line gives it emphasis and because of the emphasis, suggests that not everyone is able to be happy; therefore D is the correct answer.

4.)    Smiling continues to reoccur throughout the poem proving that it holds deeper meaning. The contrast between the emphasis to smile and the horridness of their situation shows that the smile isn’t genuine; therefore C is the correct answer.

5.)     Because of the inclusion of the father’s large height and the implication that he was not entirely emotionally stable, we can infer that, although the father uses his strength to get what he wants, he is torn up emotionally. Therefore A is the correct answer.

Multiple Choice Questions: The Mandelbaum Gate

From the floor above, where she had come from, a noise of running water and padding footsteps came in muffled spasm between the overwhelming attic snores; this was probably caused by one of the German women moving around in the night, having awakened either by habit or by the sound of Barbara’s packing and departure. A tinted glass window about the stair she had just come down let in the moonlight, but the next flight down to the front hall was in blackness by contrast to that dusky amber windowlight above. Barbara lingered on this landing, between the half-light and the pure dark, as if waiting for something. Along the corridor, where the Mother Superior slept, nothing stirred. Barbara did not know why it should. Almost disappointed, she moved to follow Freddy cautiously down the very dark staircase.

            Freddy half-way, came to a curve in the stair and bumped the suitcase loudly into the wall. Barbara halted on the third step and whispered down to him, ‘Are you all right?’ He did not reply but she could hear him continue to pick his step by muted step. She glanced behind and upward, and could not place her sense of something unaccomplished in the silence. The front door was unlocked and Freddy now held it open so that the moonlight flooded her last footsteps from the sleeping convent. They had got away.

            Immediately on passing into the night air she realized that she had almost hoped to be caught, it would have been a relief and a kind of triumph and justification. For there had been a decided element of false assumption in her reception at the convent the previous day, after they had inquired politely, and estimated her type. Of course she was an English Catholic convert. She was indeed the quiet type. But there was a lot more than met the eye, at least she hoped so. She had thought, as the Mother Superior made her benign speech of welcome, and the old novice-mistress hovered with an admiring smile, if only they knew.

1.)    The purpose of the vivid imagery in the first paragraph is to . . .

I.                   Slow down the moment allowing suspense

II.                Allow the reader to feel in the moment along with the characters

III.             Prove, by the silence, that the ladies are indifferent to whether or not she leaves the convent

A.    I and III

B.     I only

C.    I and II

D.    I, II and III

E.     III only

2.)    The simplicity of the sentence, “They had got away” serves to . . .

A.    Remind the readers that they were trying not to be seen

B.     Show the anticlimax

C.    Dramatize their escape by a short and powerful last sentence

D.    Add in the fact without going into detail on a point that isn’t of real importance

E.     Vary the sentence structure to make sure that readers stay interested

3.)    The tone of the passage can best be described as . . .

A.    Suspenseful and reflective

B.     Sanguine and philosophical

C.     Elegaic and dark

D.    Nostalgic and defiant

E.     Contemplative and regretful

4.)    The phrase “something unaccomplished in the silence” serves to . . .

A.    Show that Barbara feels she might not escape from the convent

B.     Illustrate Barbara’s need to be consistently in the spot light

C.     Show that the convent is not, in fact, completely silent

D.    Show Barbara’s desire to prove a point by her rebellion to the ladies at the convent

E.     Show that the silence makes Barbara uncomfortable

5.)    The contrast of light and dark illustrates all except . . .

A.    Barbara’s crossing over to the multidimensional person that has been buried inside

B.     A loss of hope that she will be discovered for who she truly is

C.     The beginning of her physical journey

D.    Safety vs. rebellion and adventure

E.     The change in her fear as she makes her journey

Multiple Choice Questions: "A Smile to Remember"

we had goldfish and they circled around and around
covering the picture window and
my mother, always smiling, wanting us all
to be happy, told me, 'be happy Henry!'
and she was right: it's better to be happy if you
can
but my father continued to beat her and me several times a week while
raging inside his 6-foot-two frame because he couldn't
understand what was attacking him from within.
my mother, poor fish,
wanting to be happy, beaten two or three times a
week, telling me to be happy: 'Henry, smile!
why don't you ever smile?'

and then she would smile, to show me how, and it was the
saddest smile I ever saw

one day the goldfish died, all five of them,
they floated on the water, on their sides, their
eyes still open,
and when my father got home he threw them to the cat
there on the kitchen floor and we watched as my mother
smiled
my mother, poor fish,
wanting to be happy, beaten two or three times a
week, telling me to be happy: 'Henry, smile!
why don't you ever smile?'
and then she would smile, to show me how, and it was the
saddest smile I ever saw

one day the goldfish died, all five of them,
they floated on the water, on their sides, their
eyes still open,
and when my father got home he threw them to the cat
there on the kitchen floor and we watched as my mother
smiled
and then she would smile, to show me how, and it was the
saddest smile I ever saw
one day the goldfish died, all five of them,
they floated on the water, on their sides, their
eyes still open,
and when my father got home he threw them to the cat
there on the kitchen floor and we watched as my mother
smiled
one day the goldfish died, all five of them,
they floated on the water, on their sides, their
eyes still open,
and when my father got home he threw them to the cat
there on the kitchen floor and we watched as my mother
smiled
in the bowl on the table near the heavy drapes

1.)    Line 1 serves to do all of the following except . . .

A.    Set up the action by paralleling the mother to the fish

B.     Show how the narrator feels

C.     Establish a feeling of monotony

D.    Show the fish are trapped

E.     Introduce the extended symbol

2.)    In the poem the reader can infer that the mother is . . .

A.    Pleased with her life

B.     Content with being beaten

C.    Masking her unhappiness by focusing on her child

D.    Unhappy and will forever be unhappy

E.     An independent woman

3.)    The word “can” in line 7 exists on its own line because . . .

A.    The author ran out of room on the last line

B.     It follows the poem’s rhythm

C.     It shows that they were already able to be happy

D.    It emphasizes the fact that happiness is not automatic

E.     It allows readers to concentrate on the above line

4.)    The repetition of “smile” throughout the poem serves to . . .

A.    Show how truly happy the mother and the boy are

B.     Illustrate how important the author believes it is to smile

C.    Define smiling as a symbol and allow readers to see through the mother’s front

D.    show that the smile is a parallel to attitude of the fish

E.     Show that the mother is able to smile even though she is unhappy

5.)    From the poem we can infer the father is . . .

A.)  Internally weak despite his large frame

B.)  Clear headed making him in charge of the household

C.)  A person who receives respect

D.)  Working on bettering himself for his family

E.)   Not the cause of the mother and narrator’s unhappiness

AP Essay 2006 B.

In many works of literature, a physical journey - the literal movement from one place to another - plays a central role. Choose a novel, play, or epic poem in which a physical journey is an important element and discuss how the journey adds to the meaning of the work as a whole. Avoid mere plot summary.

 Path to Liberation

            In Muriel Spark’s The Mandelbaum Gate, Barbara’s pilgrimage across Jordan while undercover, provoked her to search for the free and adventurous person buried inside of her. As it turns out, the danger wasn’t so substantial. So it is wondered why Barbara allowed herself to be placed in even more reckless territory other than, simply, “a lovely story to tell” (Spark 276).

            As Barbara makes the decision to give her pilgrimage some excitement, we see that it is not out of fear, but out of a desire to change her standard ways of life. When she first departs with Freddy, she’s surprised by the strange feeling “of going out with her hair straggling loose” (Spark 158). Barbara’s fear and paranoia make her feel liberated, excited at the idea of getting caught and given a sense of “triumph and justification” in the recognition of her unconventional side (Spark 160). At first Barbara is not aware of this fact, only confused by the sensation of “something unaccomplished in the silence” (Spark 159). But throughout her small journey escaping from the convent, and later the continuation of her pilgrimage as an Arab servant, she comes to realize the safe side is not what is truly inside her. Through her journey she is able to align the person she is with the person the rest of the world sees, aware that “her self-image was at variance with the image she presented” (Spark 36). Barbara’s physical journey becomes a quest to discover and unleash the person not “too cautious to live a life of normal danger” (Spark 36).

            Her freedom and self-expression also come from her gradual breakage of ties and bonding of new ones. Throughout Barbara’s journey, the definitive goal is to reach her fiancé Harry Clegg and drop the correspondence of an irritating and restricting friend. Through her gradual separation from her friend, Ricky, she felt “heavy with relief” (Spark 168), as she moved further and further from Ricky throughout her journey. This liberation allowed her to focus on her eventual marriage to the man who, despite other’s opinions, was the right one for the true, “scandal[ous]” (Spark 36) and uninhibited Barbara.

            As Barbara moves further through her adventure we continue to observe references to Barbara’s ulterior motives to going on her pilgrimage. When visiting the church, Barbara is enlightened by a comment that, “people put themselves out to visit places sacred to their religion . . . because that’s what people do” (Spark 210). Pilgrimage is simply something that’s done, not to lay eyes on a place that someone holy sat thousands of years ago, but to find oneself in the journey. It’s about deciding what you feel without being influenced “out here in this heat” (Spark 230).

                  Barbara realizes she’s made the choice to continue her pilgrimage for the adventure and the rebellion, noting that her decision was not from “determination to pray at the Christian shrines” (Spark 276). In an effort not to disappoint Freddy and to draw out the inner adventurist she’s been itching to prove, she sticks with her journey. To Barbara’s satisfaction, in the days following, she’s remembered to Freddy as “a jolly good sport” (Spark 276), not the dependent, quiet and one-dimensional person “set in her ways,” that she had always been perceived as (Spark 36). So whether her rebellion and journey were in hopes of reaching her self-realization, or simply “a lovely story to tell,” she became the free woman that was forever waiting to burst out. 

AP Essay 1991

Many plays and novels use contrasting places (for example, two countries, two cities or towns, two houses, or the land and the sea) to represent opposed forces or ideas that are central to the meaning of the work. Choose a novel or play that contrasts two such places. Write an essay explaining how the places differ, what each place represents, and how their contrast contributes to the meaning of the work

Border Crossing

            In Muriel Spark’s The Mandelbaum Gate, the border restrictions and tension between Israel and Jordan exhibit the close-mindedness of people on the Jordanian side and their stubbornness to see a group in only one way, leading to a rift between cultures, cultural confusion and identity crisis. Throughout the book people are constantly classified by their religion, nationality or appearance and judged based on grudges and stereotypes defined by the split between Jordan and Israel.

            The action and drama throughout the novel is provoked largely by the bitterness between the two countries. This crossing of the Mandelbaum Gate to Jordan automatically brings danger, suspicion and discomfort to those who end up on the other side. Because of the prejudice it’s believed that “it is no life to be a Jew” (Spark 230) and there’s disappointment in the fact that people are persuaded to practice otherwise because of the poor reception of others. The intense judgment and crisis that occurs when crossing to the Jordan side, shows the difference in extremity between the two countries and stronger prejudice when entering Jordan. Barbara is advised to “hush it up” when she goes to Jordan, knowing that in Israel “you only risk and argument, but there you might get shot” (Spark 35). The sense of skepticism and judgment is so strong, raising an issue within society that is carried throughout the book by the contrast in location.

When Barbara’s Jewish blood becomes a hazard after she crosses to Jordan, the true reasoning behind the rivalry is questioned. This danger caused by her Jewish side doesn’t allow Barbara to discover herself regarding half of her heritage because of the strong and irrational divide. She says, “I am who I am” (Spark 36), but knows not who she is, unable to figure it out because of the pressure and “trouble from the Christians and the Arabs” (Spark 230).  Arabs living in Jordan were not allowed to “utter the word Jew” or “Israel”. Instead, they must be referred to as “ex-Jews and . . . Israel, so-called” (Spark 73). The common conception in both countries is that the others are bad people and to “be thought a spy” if recognized in the opposite country, restricting personal understanding and a mutual understanding between differently cultured people (Spark 151).

But these stereotypical and harsh criticisms are often silently questioned with the acknowledgement that “people - they are people” (Spark 147). Throughout the book each character seems to struggle with judgment, aware of an “element of false assumption” (Spark 160) and upset with the stereotypes that exist based on a certain side of the gate. Barbara is made to be kept in hiding with the assumption that her portion of Jewish heritage could land her in deep trouble in Jordan but readers realize that “it’s a damn disgrace that a girl can’t go on a pilgrimage . . . without fear of arrest” (Spark 151). Her motives are harmless, but because of the quick judgment and distrust she’s unable to enjoy her experience in the way that she should rightfully be allowed, along with being unable to find her whole self through the experience.

There is a constant grouping of people and a belief that those people share the same ideas. But as readers realize as they go further into the text, that stereotypical and one-sided nature is not at the heart of most people. When first associating with each other the English were believed to have “a small island of mutual Englishness” (Spark 76). But readers begin to see later, as “their island was beginning to disintegrate,” that their common nationality does not mean they share the same beliefs and hold the common stereotypes (Spark 80). This concept is difficult for each side of the gate to accept. Individuals slowly come to grips with the fact but their internal opinions are never shared, therefore letting the bitter rivalry continue.

The Mandelbaum Gate symbolizes that contrast in opinion and safety, making it difficult for an understanding and open-mindedness of one’s inner feelings and others’ to be prevalent. But in the characters’ journey to either side of the gate, they realize the truth in all people, leaving them in a state of confusion wondering what emotions they should act upon. But only this contrast in acceptance allowed them to make this final realization of the irrational and unfair division between Israel and judgmental Jordan.