Small Things Like These Quizzes

Small Things Like These Quiz on Dedication, Epigraph, and Chapters 1-2

1 Who does Keegan dedicate the novella to?
All women and girls everywhere

Furlong's mother Sarah, who escaped from a mother-and-baby home

The women and children who suffered time in Ireland’s mother-and-baby homes and Magdalen laundries, and Keegan's teacher

The author's daughter
2 What is significant about the section of ‘The Proclamation of the Irish Republic’ (1916) that Keegan includes?
This excerpt shows that Keegan herself was born in a mother-and-baby home

This excerpt shows that hundreds of babies died in the mother-and-baby homes.

This excerpt shows that Ireland was colonized by Britain.

This excerpt shows that the Irish state promised equality to all, including women and children.
3 What is the novella's opening image?
April winds stripping the cherry trees bare.

Furlong shoveling coal on Christmas.

Furlong helping Sarah out of the freezing coal shed.

October winds stripping the trees bare.
4 What does Furlong do for a living?
Santa Claus impersonator

Farmhand

Coal and timber merchant

Priest
5 Which best describes the weather?
Humid

Temperate

Mildly cold

Bitterly cold
6 Define "lorry."
A small car

A holiday song

A yard where workers process and pack up coal

A large, heavy motor vehicle for transporting goods or troops; a truck
7 Which best describes Furlong's business during the autumn and winter months?
Regular

Tediously slow

Slow to the point of bankruptcy

Extremely busy
8 Which detail suggests that manual labor is still a norm?
Children pull up their hoods

Mothers typically hang their laundry on lines to dry

Some folks say the rosary

People discuss the weather
9 When Mrs. Kehoe says "The empty sack cannot stand," this is an example of what?
Poetry

An idiom

Alliteration

A simile
10 What is the Angelus bell?
The bell at St. Margaret's

A bell letting workers know when they can break for lunch

A bell letting workers know when they must return to work

A bell that rings to signal the time to pray the Angelus, a Catholic devotion
11 What custom does the town have on the first Sunday each December?
Everyone takes turns singing in the choir

Everyone gathers outside the Town Hall after dark to watch the Christmas lights get lit

Everyone makes hot chocolate at home

Everyone gathers to clean up the town's litter
12 Who do the nuns talk to?
The girls who attend St. Margaret's

Everyone equally

The poor

Well-off parents
13 How does Loretta react to Santa?
Wary, she takes time to warm up to him

Afraid, she cries and stays behind with Furlong

She spits on him

She runs up to him with all the other children
14 Who works on the Furlongs' Christmas cake?
Eileen

The entire family

Joan

Grace
15 What does Furlong wonder about their lives?
What life would be like if they had more time to think and reflect

What life would be like if Ned were his father

How being less lazy would improve their circumstances

How to be the best father he can be
16 What did Furlong ask for for Christmas when he was a child?
A hot water bottle

A book

His father and a farm jigsaw in five hundred pieces

An Xbox
17 What does Furlong say about women's intuitions?
Women have canny and deep intuitions

Women can't trust their intuitions

Men can't trust women

No one can trust each other
18 Define "leanbh."
An Irish word that means "baby"

A type of coal

The nickname of one of Furlong's daughters

A truck
19 What does Furlong say when Eileen irons the clothing before the pillowcases?
She always tackles the hardest things first

She always does the easy things before the harder ones

She takes care of her daughters

She never rests
20 Why does Furlong say that he sometimes wishes he had Eileen's mind?
She knows how to organize the household

She knows how to dole out both love and discipline

She is more creative

She doesn't worry and reflect on things the same way that Furlong does
21 What does Eileen say in response to Furlong's worries about Loretta?
Eileen echoes Furlong's worries about their daughter

Eileen says that Loretta will grow into herself with time

Eileen tells Furlong that they don't have time to worry

Eileen does not respond
22 What has Furlong been wondering lately?
What else matters in life besides Eileen and their daughters

Why Ned never revealed that he was Furlong's father

How to retire early

How to handle a challenging coworker
23 Which best describes Furlong's feeling when he worked at a mushroom factory?
Cheerful

Determined

Sad

Endless, hopeless
24 At times, Furlong feels that he is __ company for Eileen.
equal

poor

excellent

None of the above
25 Which best describes Furlong?
Hard working, reflective, anxious

Angry, revengeful

Cheerful, happy-go-lucky

Pensive, doubtful, bitter

Where did Furlong go each week when he got married?

Furlong goes to the Good Shepherd Convent to deliver supplies each week.

Asked by ivan V #1356716

Answered by jill d #170087 on 4/18/2025 11:34 AM

View All Answers

What should symbols or images should I include in my drawing about the book?

• The Road (Symbol)

After witnessing an upsetting indication of abuse at the convent, Furlong misses his turn on the drive home and ends up on a narrow road outside of town. When he stops to ask an old man for directions, the man says, "This road...

Asked by vivien r #1357308

Answered by jill d #170087 on 4/9/2025 5:44 PM

View All Answers

Who has the power?

Power primarily operates in Small Things Like These based on gender, socioeconomic status, and collective and individual identities. The novel depicts how vulnerable young women and girls faced misogyny and exploitation. The Mother Superior...

Asked by paul i #1359746

Answered by jill d #170087 on 3/24/2025 3:23 PM

View All Answers

Small Things Like These

by Claire Keegan

Small Things Like These Quiz on Dedication, Epigraph, and Chapters 1-2

Small Things Like These Questions and Answers

Study Guide for Small Things Like These