An Angel in Disguise quiz

Questions and answers

1. 1

   Question 1. Which literary movement best describes "An Angel in Disguise"?

   • Gothic / Supernatural Fiction
   • Romantic / Historical Fiction
   • Correct answer: Sentimental / Moralistic Fiction
   • Naturalist / Social Protest Fiction
   • Realist / Local Color Fiction

   Sentimental fiction uses emotional scenes and sympathetic characters to move readers toward moral action — exactly what Arthur does throughout this story.

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2. 2

   Question 2. How is Mrs. Joe Thompson first characterized in the story?

   • Generous and eager to take in needy children from the start
   • Timid and usually silent, avoiding arguments whenever her husband got angry
   • Deeply religious and immediately welcoming toward the sick child
   • Correct answer: Sharp-tempered and initially furious that Joe brought Maggie home

   Arthur describes Mrs. Thompson as having a “vinegar-tempered” nature; she comes out to meet Joe “with ruffling feathers” and is furious when she sees he has brought home a sick child.

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3. 3

   Question 3. What is Joe Thompson’s trade or occupation?

   • Correct answer: A wheelwright who built sleds and wagons for village boys
   • A blacksmith who shod horses for the village
   • A doctor who visited sick children in their homes
   • A farmer who worked the fields outside the village

   Joe Thompson is a wheelwright. Arthur notes he built and mended sleds and wagons for village boys without charging them.

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4. 4

   Question 4. What does "Intemperance" mean in this story?

   • A hot temper; anger or rage expressed loudly and without restraint
   • Correct answer: Excessive drinking or lack of self-control, especially with alcohol
   • Moderation and self-restraint, especially in matters of food and drink
   • Harsh, extreme weather, such as bitter winter cold or fierce summer heat

   Arthur opens with “Idleness, vice, and intemperance had done their miserable work” — intemperance means habitual overindulgence in alcohol, the cause of the mother’s ruin.

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5. 5

   Question 5. What is the central irony of "An Angel in Disguise"?

   • Correct answer: The child rejected as useless becomes the household’s greatest blessing
   • A cold wife can never truly learn to love an adopted child
   • Society always rewards hard work and practical thinking
   • Children should be placed in poorhouses rather than burdening neighbors

   Everyone rejects Maggie as a helpless burden who offers nothing. Yet she transforms the Thompson household with love — the child deemed most worthless proves most valuable.

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6. 6

   Question 6. What does Maggie symbolize in the story?

   • The dangers of the poorhouse system in 19th-century America
   • Correct answer: Blessings that come in unexpected or unwanted forms
   • The cruelty of village communities toward outsiders and strangers
   • The bond between a mother and her children in times of hardship

   Maggie is the “angel in disguise” of the title — she appears to be a helpless invalid but is actually a gift bringing love and warmth. Arthur echoes the biblical idea of entertaining angels unawares (Hebrews 13:2).

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7. 7

   Question 7. Why had Mrs. Thompson been so cold and ill-tempered before Maggie arrived?

   • She had been badly treated by Joe and grown bitter over many years
   • She was jealous of the other village women who had children of their own
   • She was naturally cruel and resistant to any form of compassion
   • Correct answer: She had nothing outside herself to love, making her cold and irritable

   Arthur states plainly: she had “nothing to love and care for out of herself,” making her “sore, irritable, ill-tempered, and self-afflicting.” Her childlessness left a void that Maggie’s patient love filled.

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8. 8

   Question 8. Who took John, the eldest of the three orphaned children?

   • Mrs. Ellis, who said she must act from a sense of duty
   • The blacksmith’s wife, who told Joe to take Maggie to the poorhouse
   • Correct answer: Farmer Jones, who took John because he was useful as a farmhand
   • Joe Thompson, who wanted a strong boy to help in his shop

   Farmer Jones took John, age twelve, because the boy was “a stout lad, able to earn his living with any farmer.” The farmer noted approvingly that the mother was now “out of the way.”

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9. 9

   Question 9. What does the story reveal about mid-19th-century American attitudes toward the poor?

   • Children orphaned by poverty were always taken in by charitable families
   • Wealthy landowners were legally required to house orphaned children
   • The temperance movement had already reformed most rural communities
   • Correct answer: Human worth was judged by economic usefulness, and the poor had few protections

   The village assigns children based on their labor value: John can farm, Kate can serve. Maggie, unable to work, is offered only the poorhouse. Arthur critiques a society that measures human worth by productive capacity.

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10. 10

    Question 10. Which literary device does Joe Thompson use when he persuades his wife to keep Maggie?

    • Correct answer: Biblical allusion
    • Dramatic monologue
    • Unreliable narration
    • Stream of consciousness

    Joe alludes to the Bible — he references the Savior blessing children, rebuking disciples who turned them away, and the promise that giving “a cup of cold water” would be rewarded. This is a biblical allusion that positions charity as a religious duty.

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11. 11

    Question 11. Which of these events actually happened in the story?

    • The mother dies on her own doorstep in a drunken fall.

      Happened

      Arthur opens the story with this: “She had fallen upon the threshold of her own door in a drunken fit, and died in the presence of her frightened little ones.”

    • The entire village eagerly volunteers to take in all three orphaned children.

      Didn't happen

      The village takes John and Kate because they are useful, but no one volunteers for Maggie. The response is largely self-interested, not charitable.

    • Joe Thompson wraps Maggie in bedclothes and carries her across a field to his home.

      Happened

      Arthur describes Joe wrapping her “with the gentleness almost of a woman” and bearing her “out into the air and across the field.”

    • Mrs. Thompson welcomes Maggie warmly the moment Joe arrives home.

      Didn't happen

      Mrs. Thompson meets Joe at the garden gate “with ruffling feathers” and is furious, calling Maggie a “sick brat.”

    • Joe uses a Bible passage to persuade his wife to let Maggie stay the night.

      Happened

      Joe references the Savior blessing children and the reward for giving “a cup of cold water” to convince Jane that one night of kindness is a small thing.

    • By evening of the first day, Mrs. Thompson is sitting at Maggie’s bedside talking gently to her.

      Happened

      Joe peeks through the window and sees his wife sitting with Maggie, talking in a calm and gentle manner.

    • Joe eventually visits the Guardians of the Poor to arrange Maggie’s transfer to the poorhouse.

      Didn't happen

      Joe never visits the Guardians at all. Within a week, Mrs. Thompson would sooner go to the poorhouse herself than send Maggie there.

    • Maggie had injured her spine in a fall from a window two years earlier.

      Happened

      Arthur explains that “Two years before a fall from a window had injured her spine, and she had not been able to leave her bed since, except when lifted in the arms of her mother.”

    • The story ends with Joe regretting that he brought Maggie into his home.

      Didn't happen

      The ending is joyful: Joe drinks daily of “a more precious wine of life” than any other man in the neighborhood, and the narrator declares an angel has filled his home “with the sunshine of love.”

    • Mrs. Thompson toasts bread softened with milk and butter and takes it in to the hungry Maggie with a cup of tea.

      Happened

      After Joe’s plea, Mrs. Thompson “toasted a slice of bread, and softened it with milk and butter” and brought it with a cup of tea to Maggie.

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