Ethan Frome

Reading Check questions are designed for in-class review on key plot points or for quick verbal or written assessments. Multiple Choice and Short Answer Quizzes create ideal summative assessments, and collectively function to convey a sense of the work’s tone and themes.

Prologue

Reading Check

1. What is the name of the town where the novel takes place?

2. What is the narrator’s profession?

3. How does the narrator meet Ethan Frome?

4. What event causes the narrator to spend the night at Ethan’s farm?

Multiple Choice

1. Which of the following best describes the narrator’s depiction of rural Massachusetts in winter?

A) desolate

B) picturesque

C) hazardous

D) sleepy

2. The narrator’s remark that Harmon Gow “developed [Ethan's] tale as far as his mental and moral reach permitted” suggests that which of the following may shape the narrator’s own account (Prologue)?

A) racism

B) sexism

C) classism

D) ableism

3. What does Harmon Gow imply regarding the value of the Fromes’ farm?

A) It has increased in value.

B) It has decreased in value.

C) Its value has remained steady.

D) It is worth more than it is valued at.

4. Which of the following moments hints at Ethan’s frustrated ambition and dreams?

A) when he picks up medicine at the post office

B) when he discusses having to take down his farm’s “L”

C) when he offers to drive the narrator to the power plant

D) when he shows interest in a book the narrator is reading