The Magic Barrel Short Story

Which of the following is NOT true about the magic shop?

• The father was never really sure if it was there - it was like a "mirage."

• The shop had many rooms and passages, so many that the father got confused inside of it.

• The store disappeared after Gip and his father exited, and the father could never find it again.

• Any child could enter the store.

Which of the following is the protagonist in the story?

• The little boy, Gip

• The father

• The shop owner

• The shop itself

What is the main conflict in the story?

• The shop owner vs. Gip

• The father vs. the shop owner

• The father vs. himself

• The father vs. the red demon

Which of the following sentences BEST explains the character of the shop owner?

• "... a curious, sallow, dark man, with one ear larger than the other and a chin like the toe-cap of a boot." (page 2)

• "...Our larger tricks, and our daily provisions and all the other things we want, we get out of that hat..." (page 3)

• "He said very little, but his eyes were eloquent; the clutch of his arms was eloquent. he was the playground of unspeakable emotions. These, you know, were real Magics." (page 4)

• "The particular horrid thing he did was with his nose. He did it just as though he was idle and wanted to amuse himself." (page 6)

Which of the following BEST explains the development of the character of the father? The change in his point of view?

• "I displayed no unbecoming surprise, and since then I have taken occasion to drop in upon him once or twice, unannounced, when the soldiers were about, but so far I have never discovered them performing in anything like a magical manner." (last page)

• "The action was unexpected. I had seen the trick done at entertainments endless times before - it's part of the common stock of conjurers - but I had not expected it here." (page 2)

• "I was beginning to think the magic just a little too genuine." (page 5)

• "Presently I saw with a qualm of distrust and something very like jealousy that Gip had hold of this person's finger as usually he has hold of mine." (page 5)

What is the climax of the story?

• When Gip disappears

• When the red demon appears

• When Gip's toy soldiers come to life at home

• When the shop disappears

Whose point of view changes the most in the story?

• Gip

• The father

• The owner

• The red demon

Why is Gip the "right sort of boy"?

• He obeys his father

• He has a sense of wonder and gratitude.

• He likes magic.

• He will believe whatever his father tells him.

The red demon on page 5 is a symbol. What does it symbolize?

• The shop owner's sinister nature.

• Gip's greediness

• The father's jealousy

• The father's inability to believe

Which of the following BEST describes the major theme of this story?

• Good fathers are always a little jealous.

• It is easier for a child to believe than an adult.

• Magic is real.

• Everyone has a "red demon" in them.