The Applicant Quizzes

The Applicant Quiz

By Eleanor Stern · Edited by James Cooper · Last reviewed July 25, 2021

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

Plastic

Wooden

Rubber

Vinyl
2 Which character does not appear in the poem?

The priest

The interviewer

The applicant

The woman
3 What is meant by the word "poultice?"

A textbook or encyclopedia

An object used to soothe injuries

A type of concrete popular for midcentury homes

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 proposes that the marriage process commodifies women

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
5 Fill in the blank: "How can we give you a _____? Stop crying."

Prize

Chance

Wife

Thing
6 In general, what effect does figurative language have in this poem?

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

It recalls unexpected settings, telling us that the applicant's mind is elsewhere

It dehumanizes the people referred to through comparisons to objects

It advances the idea that all people and things are connected in a critique of monogamy
7 Why does the interviewer ask the applicant whether something is "missing"?

He knows that the applicant is "missing" things, but wants the applicant to confess first

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
8 Fill in the blank: "To bring _____ and roll away headaches"

Children

Dinner

Teacups

Laughter
9 How are new wives made, according to the interviewer?

By reusing material from the old ones

By transforming animals into women

By growing them in a greenhouse

Through byproducts of husbands' bodies
10 What do prosthetics symbolize?

Unmet male needs

The social safety net

Artificiality under consumerism

Wartime trauma
11 Fill in the blank: "To thumb shut your eyes at the _____"

Close

End

Last

Night
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 stresses the essential similarity between domestic and commercial life

It allows the reader to fully hear both the interview questions and the applicant's answers

It makes real-life marriage and romance feel calm and pleasant by comparison

It mimics the fast-paced excitement of the urban corporate world
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, _____"

Heatproof

Childproof

Fireproof

Shatterproof
16 What is the speaker's likely identity?

A priest or minister

A teacher or professor

A salesperson or businessperson

A parent or grandparent
17 How many stanzas are in this poem?

2

4

8

3
18 Fill in the blank: "Naked as _____ to start"

Sin

Paper

Thin air

Dirt
19 What type of stanzas make up this poem?

Octaves

Tercets

Quintains

Quatrains
20 What is the poem's meter?

Trochaic hexameter

Anapestic trimeter

Iambic pentameter

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

Dance, dance, dance

Pose, pose, pose

Talk, talk, talk

Clean, clean, clean
22 What is the poem's rhyme scheme?

ABAB ABAB ABAB

ABBA ABBA CDCCDC

ABB CDD ACCA ABBA

It has no regular rhyme scheme
23 What does Plath allude to with the phrase "But in twenty-five years she'll be silver, / In fifty, gold."

Traditional wedding anniversary gifts

The story of Adam and Eve

A popular 1950s love song

Shakespeare's "The Tempest"
24 Which of the following is NOT used as a metaphor or simile for the wife?

A needle

A hand

A doll

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

An image

A color

An eyelash

Sunglasses

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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