SSM Exam UPDATED ACTUAL
QUESTIONS AND CORRECT ANSWERS
"The Tell-Tale Heart" Edgar Allan Poe - CORRECT ANSWER Story of troubled
young man who has a twisted mind and feels the necessity to kill the old man he lives with.
The tone is very intense creepy and makes you feel uneasy all throughout the story.
"The Overcoat" Nikolai Gogol - CORRECT ANSWER A story about a sad old man
who has worked in a factory his whole life and when he finally gets a coat that makes him
noticed by people, its stolen and he is distraught. He haunts people for the rest of the story
after his death, looking for overcoats.
"The Darling" Anton Chekhov - CORRECT ANSWER A young woman is married to a
business man who is away on business alot. when he goes to the city one time he died, and
then she remarries. Everyone pities her, but she can fall in love again so easily it is a bit
disturbing.
"The lady with the little dog" Anton Chekhov - CORRECT ANSWER Story about a
married man who goes to yalta for a break and has yet another affair with a woman. This is a
different affair then his past ones though, because he pursues her after and they try to make
their love work in secret. This is the first time the man realizes he loves someone.
"The story of an hour" Kate Chopin - CORRECT ANSWER A woman finds out her
husband is "dead' and she quickly gets over it, almost excited. She then finds out her husband
is actually alive and she has a heart attack.
"Girl" Jamaica Kincaid - CORRECT ANSWER Not an ordinary story format,
essentially just a list of suggestions/commands by a motherly figure to a young girl, trying to
shape her into a respectable young woman.
"The Laugher" Heinrich Boll - CORRECT ANSWER A man has the best laugh and he
is paid to do it, but when he is at home he doesn't laugh and he doesn't seem to find happiness
through his laughter.
, "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty" James Thurber - CORRECT ANSWER A story about
an aging man who lives a pretty uneventful life on the surface and to the community and his
wife, but the author gives us flashes of the protagonist's fake, imaginary life.
"The Destructors" Graham Greene - CORRECT ANSWER Some young kids - post
world war 2- were mischevious and decided to pull a prank and take down an old mans house
because it was the last thing standing from the town before the bombings and war.
"The Lesson" Toni Cade Bambara - CORRECT ANSWER A black lady who is one of
few in the community with an eduction, who teaches these young kids a lesson by taking
them to a toy store to show them the large divide between poor and rich.
"The swimmer" John Cheever - CORRECT ANSWER a story about a middle aged
man who finds himself on a mission to swim in every pool on his way home, to find out that
he doesn't live there anymore and his family is all gone.
"One of these days" Gabriel Marquez - CORRECT ANSWER A story about the town
leader coming into the dentists office with a killer tooth ache. The dentist pulls it out with out
anastesia to try and show the leader that the town doesn't support him.
"A very old man with enormous wings" Gabriel Garcia Marquez - CORRECT
ANSWER ...
"Thank you, Ma'am" Langston Hughes - CORRECT ANSWER ...
"Sweat" Zora Neale Hurston - CORRECT ANSWER ...
"The man who was almost a man" Richard Wright - CORRECT ANSWER ...
"Battle Royal" Ralph Ellison - CORRECT ANSWER ...
"Sonny's blues" James Baldwin - CORRECT ANSWER ...
QUESTIONS AND CORRECT ANSWERS
"The Tell-Tale Heart" Edgar Allan Poe - CORRECT ANSWER Story of troubled
young man who has a twisted mind and feels the necessity to kill the old man he lives with.
The tone is very intense creepy and makes you feel uneasy all throughout the story.
"The Overcoat" Nikolai Gogol - CORRECT ANSWER A story about a sad old man
who has worked in a factory his whole life and when he finally gets a coat that makes him
noticed by people, its stolen and he is distraught. He haunts people for the rest of the story
after his death, looking for overcoats.
"The Darling" Anton Chekhov - CORRECT ANSWER A young woman is married to a
business man who is away on business alot. when he goes to the city one time he died, and
then she remarries. Everyone pities her, but she can fall in love again so easily it is a bit
disturbing.
"The lady with the little dog" Anton Chekhov - CORRECT ANSWER Story about a
married man who goes to yalta for a break and has yet another affair with a woman. This is a
different affair then his past ones though, because he pursues her after and they try to make
their love work in secret. This is the first time the man realizes he loves someone.
"The story of an hour" Kate Chopin - CORRECT ANSWER A woman finds out her
husband is "dead' and she quickly gets over it, almost excited. She then finds out her husband
is actually alive and she has a heart attack.
"Girl" Jamaica Kincaid - CORRECT ANSWER Not an ordinary story format,
essentially just a list of suggestions/commands by a motherly figure to a young girl, trying to
shape her into a respectable young woman.
"The Laugher" Heinrich Boll - CORRECT ANSWER A man has the best laugh and he
is paid to do it, but when he is at home he doesn't laugh and he doesn't seem to find happiness
through his laughter.
, "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty" James Thurber - CORRECT ANSWER A story about
an aging man who lives a pretty uneventful life on the surface and to the community and his
wife, but the author gives us flashes of the protagonist's fake, imaginary life.
"The Destructors" Graham Greene - CORRECT ANSWER Some young kids - post
world war 2- were mischevious and decided to pull a prank and take down an old mans house
because it was the last thing standing from the town before the bombings and war.
"The Lesson" Toni Cade Bambara - CORRECT ANSWER A black lady who is one of
few in the community with an eduction, who teaches these young kids a lesson by taking
them to a toy store to show them the large divide between poor and rich.
"The swimmer" John Cheever - CORRECT ANSWER a story about a middle aged
man who finds himself on a mission to swim in every pool on his way home, to find out that
he doesn't live there anymore and his family is all gone.
"One of these days" Gabriel Marquez - CORRECT ANSWER A story about the town
leader coming into the dentists office with a killer tooth ache. The dentist pulls it out with out
anastesia to try and show the leader that the town doesn't support him.
"A very old man with enormous wings" Gabriel Garcia Marquez - CORRECT
ANSWER ...
"Thank you, Ma'am" Langston Hughes - CORRECT ANSWER ...
"Sweat" Zora Neale Hurston - CORRECT ANSWER ...
"The man who was almost a man" Richard Wright - CORRECT ANSWER ...
"Battle Royal" Ralph Ellison - CORRECT ANSWER ...
"Sonny's blues" James Baldwin - CORRECT ANSWER ...
