The Applicant Quizzes

The Applicant Quiz

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

Rubber

Plastic

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

The interviewer

The applicant

The priest
3 What is meant by the word "poultice?"
An object used to soothe injuries

A love potion

A type of concrete popular for midcentury homes

A textbook or encyclopedia
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."
Chance

Prize

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 dehumanizes the people referred to through comparisons to objects

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

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 is only willing to accept perfect applicants who lack nothing

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

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

Teacups

Laughter

Children
9 How are new wives made, according to the interviewer?
Through byproducts of husbands' bodies

By growing them in a greenhouse

By transforming animals into women

By reusing material from the old ones
10 What do prosthetics symbolize?
Unmet male needs

Artificiality under consumerism

The social safety net

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

Last

Close

Night
12 What does the suit symbolize?
Luxury

The changing class system

Workplace norms

Men and masculinity
13 What is the primary effect of the poem's interview setting?
It makes real-life marriage and romance feel calm and pleasant by comparison

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

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

It stresses the essential similarity between domestic and commercial life
14 Which of these real-life historical developments is Plath likely responding to?
The post-World War II backlash against changing gender norms

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

The medieval tradition of early engagements for very young nobles

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

Heatproof

Fireproof

Childproof
16 What is the speaker's likely identity?
A teacher or professor

A priest or minister

A salesperson or businessperson

A parent or grandparent
17 How many stanzas are in this poem?
4

2

8

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

Sin

Thin air

Paper
19 What type of stanzas make up this poem?
Octaves

Quintains

Quatrains

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

Anapestic trimeter

Trochaic hexameter

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

Pose, pose, pose

Clean, clean, clean

Talk, talk, talk
22 What is the poem's rhyme scheme?
ABB CDD ACCA ABBA

ABBA ABBA CDCCDC

It has no regular rhyme scheme

ABAB ABAB ABAB
23 What does Plath allude to with the phrase "But in twenty-five years she'll be silver, / In fifty, gold."
Shakespeare's "The Tempest"

A popular 1950s love song

Traditional wedding anniversary gifts

The story of Adam and Eve
24 Which of the following is NOT used as a metaphor or simile for the wife?
A poultice

A needle

A doll

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

A color

An eyelash

An image

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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