The Applicant Quizzes

The Applicant Quiz

1 Fill in the blank: "Rubber breasts or a _____ crotch"
Vinyl

Plastic

Rubber

Wooden
2 Which character does not appear in the poem?
The woman

The applicant

The interviewer

The priest
3 What is meant by the word "poultice?"
A textbook or encyclopedia

A type of concrete popular for midcentury homes

An object used to soothe injuries

A love potion
4 Which of the following is NOT true about this poem?
It suggests that men are sheltered and unhappy in marriage

It claims that wives are expected to do a great deal of difficult work

It argues that women generally have an easy time in marriage

It proposes that the marriage process commodifies women
5 Fill in the blank: "How can we give you a _____? Stop crying."
Prize

Chance

Thing

Wife
6 In general, what effect does figurative language have in this poem?
It recalls unexpected settings, telling us that the applicant's mind is elsewhere

It alerts us to the interviewer's imagination, hinting that he isn't suited to corporate work

It advances the idea that all people and things are connected in a critique of monogamy

It dehumanizes the people referred to through comparisons to objects
7 Why does the interviewer ask the applicant whether something is "missing"?
He has noticed that the applicant is upset and is searching for the reason

He believes that the wife's role is to compensate for anything the applicant lacks

He is only willing to accept perfect applicants who lack nothing

He knows that the applicant is "missing" things, but wants the applicant to confess first
8 Fill in the blank: "To bring _____ and roll away headaches"
Teacups

Children

Laughter

Dinner
9 How are new wives made, according to the interviewer?
By growing them in a greenhouse

By transforming animals into women

Through byproducts of husbands' bodies

By reusing material from the old ones
10 What do prosthetics symbolize?
The social safety net

Unmet male needs

Wartime trauma

Artificiality under consumerism
11 Fill in the blank: "To thumb shut your eyes at the _____"
End

Close

Night

Last
12 What does the suit symbolize?
The changing class system

Men and masculinity

Luxury

Workplace norms
13 What is the primary effect of the poem's interview setting?
It allows the reader to fully hear both the interview questions and the applicant's answers

It stresses the essential similarity between domestic and commercial life

It mimics the fast-paced excitement of the urban corporate world

It makes real-life marriage and romance feel calm and pleasant by comparison
14 Which of these real-life historical developments is Plath likely responding to?
The medieval tradition of early engagements for very young nobles

The late-twentieth century expectation of women's corporate succes

The post-World War II backlash against changing gender norms

The Victorian development of "separate spheres" for men and women
15 Fill in the blank: "It is waterproof, _____"
Shatterproof

Childproof

Heatproof

Fireproof
16 What is the speaker's likely identity?
A parent or grandparent

A priest or minister

A teacher or professor

A salesperson or businessperson
17 How many stanzas are in this poem?
3

4

8

2
18 Fill in the blank: "Naked as _____ to start"
Sin

Paper

Thin air

Dirt
19 What type of stanzas make up this poem?
Quintains

Tercets

Octaves

Quatrains
20 What is the poem's meter?
Iambic pentameter

Trochaic hexameter

Anapestic trimeter

It is free-verse
21 Fill in the blank: "It can _____, _____, _____."
Dance, dance, dance

Talk, talk, talk

Clean, clean, clean

Pose, pose, pose
22 What is the poem's rhyme scheme?
It has no regular rhyme scheme

ABAB ABAB ABAB

ABB CDD ACCA ABBA

ABBA ABBA CDCCDC
23 What does Plath allude to with the phrase "But in twenty-five years she'll be silver, / In fifty, gold."
A popular 1950s love song

Shakespeare's "The Tempest"

The story of Adam and Eve

Traditional wedding anniversary gifts
24 Which of the following is NOT used as a metaphor or simile for the wife?
A hand

A poultice

A needle

A doll
25 Fill in the blank: "You have an eye, it's _____."
Sunglasses

An image

An eyelash

A color

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Study Guide for The Applicant

The Applicant study guide contains a biography of Sylvia Plath, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis.

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Essays for The Applicant

The Applicant essays are academic essays for citation. These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of The Applicant by Sylvia Plath.

Defamiliarization of “The Applicant:” Marriage and Gender