1. part a: which of the following best describes a central theme of the text? a. men and women are equal but different. b. death that is unexpected and sudden is the worst kind of death, for it makes one feel unbalanced. c. freedom comes from within, not from outside circumstance; a truly free person does not have to rely on anything but their own imagination. d. to escape from the pressure of marriage and dependency, by any means, is a great gift of freedom. 2. part b: which of the following quotes best supports the answer to part a? a. “knowing that mrs. mallard was afflicted with a heart trouble, great care was taken to break to her as gently as possible the news of her husband's death.” (paragraph 1) b. “she knew that she would weep again when she saw the kind, tender hands folded in death; the face that had never looked save with love upon her, fixed and gray and dead.” (paragraph 11) c. “there would be no one to live for during those coming years; she would live for herself. there would be no powerful will bending ”€? (paragraph 12) d. "and yet she had loved him--sometimes. often she had not. what did it matter! " (paragraph 13) 3. part a: how does the imagery used in the story contribute to its central theme(s)? a. mrs. mallard locks herself in her room for the majority of the story, and this enclosed imagery contributes to the themes of isolation and death. b. mrs. mallard's fantasies of her life in the coming years, free to do as she , add to the theme of mrs. mallard’s growing sense of independence. c. the recent news of mr. mallard’s death is juxtaposed with the imagery of the beauty of spring, thus contributing to the theme of sudden death. d. the imagery of parting clouds in the blue sky through the open window reflects mrs. mallard’s growing sense of freedom as a woman. 4. part b: which of the following quotes best supports the answer to part a? a. “when the storm of grief had spent itself she went away to her room alone. she would have no one follow her.” (paragraph 3) b. “she could see in the open square before her house the tops of trees that were all aquiver with the new spring life.” (paragraph 5) c. “but she felt it, creeping out of the sky, reaching toward her through the sounds, the scents, the color that filled the air.” (paragraph 9) d. “but she saw beyond that bitter moment a long procession of years to come” (paragraph 11)