Question 1 of 10
In the passage, Joan says she capitulated. Which of these is closest in meaning?
A) Celebrated with excitement
B) Escaped from a difficult situation
C) Gave in and stopped resisting
D) Made a loud complaint
Question 2 of 10
The other girls show scorn on their painted lips. What does this image suggest?
A) The girls have beautiful stage makeup on
B) Their made-up faces show open contempt and disrespect towards Joan
C) They are smiling warmly to welcome Joan to her new role
D) They are nervous about their own performance
Question 3 of 10
Joan describes the butterflies' costumes as having wispy skirts and shining wings. Why does Atwood include this detail?
A) To show that the butterflies' costumes are poorly made
B) To prove that Joan's costume is better than theirs
C) To show that Miss Flegg is a talented costume designer
D) To create a painful contrast with Joan's heavy, ugly mothball costume
Question 4 of 10
Joan describes her face as having black streaks like sooty tears. What technique is this?
A) A simile — comparing the makeup streaks to soot using 'like'
B) Alliteration — repeating the same starting sound
C) Onomatopoeia — a word that sounds like what it means
D) Personification — giving human qualities to something non-human
Question 5 of 10
Joan calls her experience this humiliation disguised as a privilege. What literary technique is Atwood using here?
A) Onomatopoeia — making words sound like actions
B) Alliteration — repeating consonant sounds at the start of words
C) Irony — where the reality is the opposite of what it appears to be
D) Simile — comparing two things using 'like' or 'as'
Question 6 of 10
Miss Flegg gave me a shove and I lurched onto the stage. What do these words suggest about Joan's entrance?
A) Joan enters the stage confidently and gracefully
B) Joan is pushed against her will and stumbles on clumsily — she has no control
C) Miss Flegg is helping Joan by guiding her gently to her mark
D) Joan is eager to perform and rushes on excitedly
Question 7 of 10
Joan says I felt ridiculous as if this dance was the truth about me. What does this reveal about her deepest fear?
A) She fears the clumsy, laughable mothball really represents who she is inside
B) She is worried her feet will hurt from stamping
C) She thinks the audience will recognise her face behind the costume
D) She is embarrassed that she forgot the dance steps
Question 8 of 10
The audience shouts 'Bravo mothball'. Why is this moment bittersweet for Joan?
A) The audience is being sarcastic and mocking her
B) Joan hates the word 'mothball' and wishes they'd use her real name
C) She wishes the butterflies were getting applause instead
D) She is applauded for being funny, when she wanted to be admired for grace and beauty
Question 9 of 10
Joan cries over her thwarted wings. What literary technique is this?
A) A simile — comparing her sadness to wings using 'like'
B) Alliteration — the repeated 'w' sound in 'thwarted wings'
C) A metaphor — 'wings' represents her crushed dream of being a butterfly dancer
D) Personification — giving wings the ability to feel thwarted
Question 10 of 10
Joan's final line is: I wasn't sure it was a kind I liked. What technique makes this line so effective?
A) Exaggeration — she is overstating how bad it was
B) Understatement — she expresses deep pain in deliberately calm, controlled words
C) Rhyme — the words create a musical pattern
D) Repetition — she repeats key words for emphasis
Question 1 of 8
Atwood uses short sentences in paragraph 2: 'I went home. I went into the bathroom and locked the door.' What effect does this create?
A) A numb, automatic rhythm — Joan is acting on instinct, too upset to think clearly
B) It shows Joan is calm and in control of her feelings
C) It makes the passage boring and slow
D) Atwood is running out of things to say
Question 2 of 8
Joan says the dance was 'a dance of rage and destruction'. What technique is this?
A) Simile — comparing the dance to rage
B) Metaphor — the dance becomes rage itself, not just a performance
C) Personification — giving rage the ability to dance
D) Onomatopoeia — 'rage' sounds like an angry noise
Question 3 of 8
Atwood describes Joan 'red-faced and steaming in the hated costume'. What two things does this phrase work on?
A) Sight and sound — we can see and hear Joan's discomfort
B) Past and present — it compares how Joan felt then and now
C) Physical and emotional — Joan is literally overheating AND boiling with anger inside
D) Humour and sadness — it is meant to make us laugh and cry
Question 4 of 8
Joan notices the audience members shouting 'Bravo' 'must have been fathers rather than mothers'. What does this observation reveal?
A) Fathers are always louder than mothers at school events
B) The mothers had already left the recital
C) Joan wants her father to be in the audience
D) Joan believes mothers would be more likely to understand her pain, while fathers just see entertainment
Question 5 of 8
Miss Flegg is congratulated on her priceless touch. What makes this moment ironic?
A) Adults praise Miss Flegg's 'brilliant idea' without realising it was actually cruelty towards a child
B) Miss Flegg didn't actually plan the mothball — it was Joan's idea
C) The congratulations are sarcastic — nobody really likes the performance
D) Miss Flegg doesn't like being congratulated
Question 6 of 8
Atwood writes that Joan 'loved dancing school' but decides 'not going back in the autumn'. What makes this contrast effective?
A) It shows Joan is being dramatic and will probably change her mind
B) It shows how deeply the experience has damaged her — she's giving up something she genuinely loves
C) It shows Joan never really enjoyed dancing
D) It is meant to be a happy ending — Joan is free from Miss Flegg
Question 7 of 8
Throughout the passage, Atwood uses the first person ('I') narrator. Why is this particularly effective for this story?
A) It lets us know what all the characters are thinking
B) It makes the story feel less personal and more objective
C) It puts us directly inside Joan's mind, making us feel her humiliation, rage, and confusion as if they were our own
D) It is the easiest way to write a story
Question 8 of 8
The title of the performance is 'The Butterfly Frolic', yet the most memorable performer is the mothball. What technique does this represent across the whole passage?
A) Foreshadowing — we are warned early that Joan will steal the show
B) Flashback — the story goes back in time to explain the title
C) Onomatopoeia — 'frolic' sounds like a playful dance
D) Irony — the planned show is overshadowed by the unplanned one; the 'ugly' mothball outshines the 'beautiful' butterflies