Helen on 86th Street Test

Where is Vita’s father while the events of the story are taking place?

• Living in the apartment

• Traveling to unknown places

• Married to his second wife

• Directing the school play

What do the dog Argus, the cat Marlowe, the birds John and John, and the sixth-grader Helen all have in common?

• Vita calls them animals.

• They all suffer disappointment.

• They are annoying.

• Their names are allusions to literary figures.

Mr. Dodd thinks that, as an actress, Vita —

• is the best actress in the sixth grade

• is worthy of stardom

• has little or no talent

• needs training to develop her gifts

Which is the best description of Vita’s mother?

• Grieving but trying to get on with her life

• Merry and outgoing, always looking for fun

• So bitter that she is unable to help her own daughter

• Totally focused on her work and career

How is a restaurant takeout cup made into a mythological allusion in this story?

• The cup is blue, and so is Vita’s mood.

• The cup becomes a prop for the class play.

• Ancient Greeks invented the paper cup.

• The cup has a picture of an ancient Greek temple on it.

Vita burns the letters because she —

• wants to make a sacrifice in order to get three wishes

• doesn’t want Helen to act in the play

• suffers from an unhealthy desire to start fires

• wants to keep her mother from reading them

When Vita’s mother says, “No more burnt offerings when I’m not home,” readers learn that she —

• is clueless about Vita’s life

• probably made “burnt offerings” at Vita’s age

• knows more than Vita thought she did

• worries about leaving Vita alone

By the end of the story, Vita has not—

• gotten two of her wishes

• shown she is a gifted actress

• learned that her mother and Mr. Farfel have parted company

• seen her father return after his long voyage

To best describe Vita’s traits, you might say that she —

• is athletic and musical

• makes the best of every situation

• is imaginative and emotional

• is confident about her appearance

Vita describes the letter she wants to write to her father. Then she describes the letter she actually does write. What inference can you make?

• The letter she writes is a lie, intended to make her look good.

• The things she wants to say are too painful to actually write.

• She is ashamed of her writing skills.

• She wants to fool her mother.