The Skylight Room

By O’ Henry
MCQs
1. In the short story, ''The Skylight Room'' by O. Henry, Miss Elsie Leeson can be
described as _____.
a) Optimistic
b) Indifferent
c) Negative
d) Withdrawn
2. In the short story, ''The Skylight Room'' by O. Henry, what is the skylight room?
a) An upscale room in the boarding house that has several windows.
b) A room rented by one of Elsie's friends.
c) The common area of the boarding house.
d) The smallest, cheapest room in the boarding house in the attic.
3. In the short story, ''The Skylight Room'' by O. Henry, Mrs. Parker is:
a) A woman that lives at the boarding house.
b) The maid at the boarding house.
c) The owner of the boarding house.
d) The ambulance doctor.
4. Which of the following word describes Mrs. Parker’s personality?
a) Snobbish
b) Compromising
c) Carefree
d) Good-natured
5. In “The Skylight Room” what does “Billy Jackson” symbolize?
a) Miss Leeson’s Stupidity
b) Miss Leeson’s poverty
c) Miss Leeson’s dreams and hopes
d) Miss Leeson’s Failure
6. What is the race of Clara, the maid of Mrs. Parker?
a) Asian
b) African
c) Blonde
d) Red-haired
7. What was the name of “Billy Jackson” told by Miss Longnecker to Miss Leeson?
a) Alpha
b) Beta
c) Gamma
d) Deta
 8. An allusion of “train to Momus” is used for which character?
a) Mrs. Parker
b) Mr. Skidder
c) Mr. Hoover
d) Dr. William Jackson
9. From whose point of view the story is narrated?
a) Miss Leeson
b) Mrs. Parker
c) Billy Jackson
d) Third Person
10. Every room-hunter was made to visit his ( Mr. Skidder) room to admire
a) His Writings
b) Hid Artworks
c) Lambrequins
d) Vase

Short Questions
1. How is gender wise discrimination presented in the short story “The Skylight Room"?
First of all, the job of Mrs. Parker which is taking care of the apartments, seems to be inherently
feminine when thought of. Mrs. Parker represents a sort of motherly authority and a nagging
figure. Right off the start the author creates a hypothetical male character that has a higher
status than Mrs. Parker. Miss Leeson, is rather objectified and does not have much depth to
her. She is also represented as a character of not many brains and just looks.  She is also
reduced to a simple object of beauty, by dedicating a large part of the narrative into how she
would captivate all the men on the stairs. The character that seems to have the most depth is
the writer, Mr. Skidder. However, the author still makes use of negative masculine views, such
as the “forty-five, fat, flush and foolish” Mr. Hoover. Mr. Hoover, proposes her but she runs
away which is a rather feminist act to occur because it means that she was standing up to the
man.
2. Give the description of Miss Leeson’s character.
Miss Elsie Leeson is ‘a very little girl, with eyes and hair that had kept on growing after she had
stopped’. It is a good natured woman, with her appearance people usually cheer up, she is
extremely kind and tender. Miss Leeson is a typist; she is a poor little working girl and is looking
for a place to live. She is rather lonely but finds friends in her roomers. The author gives an
indirect description of Miss Leeson but reading the text we understand how determined and at
the same time fragile she is. She tries to fight the reality, finds amusement in simple things and
even hope in the ordinary star which is always there for her even when ‘there wasn't anything
else but darkness to look at. She gives the name to the star ‘Billy Jackson’ and it’s evident that is
not just a name, it means something more for her.
 3. What are the themes of “The Skylight Room”?
One of theme of the story is the contrast between the rich and the poor, their way of life and
attitude to each other. The author shows the same situation from two different points of view
lighting out in this way the hardships of the poverty and the scorn disdain of wealth. Another
theme which we observe is that one should be thankful for what one do have. We see the
character of Miss Leeson who is being optimistic even though she don’t earn enough. Despite
of all of the difficulties the poor girl manages to find happiness in even in such a bad situation.
Another theme which is visible is man versus society. Society is acting like a harsh monster
which is putting the human in bad time. Miss Leeson is not treated well by Mrs. Parker and she
also lost her job making her life more and more difficult.
4. Did Miss Leeson know Dr. William Jackson earlier?
She knew the doctor earlier. The moment the doctor finds out the patient is Elsie Leeson, he
demolishes the callous, uncaring landlady for her apathy in such a manner that the landlady
spends the rest of her life recovering from this whiplashing tongue. He does not allow her to be
put on a stretcher, but carries her out to the ambulance himself, telling the driver to drive like
hell. Another thing to note is that the name given by Miss Leeson “Billy Jackson” is similar to
that of doctor. It seems like he is the original unattainable star in her eyes.
5. What was Miss Leeson’s dream/ideal and did it come true or not?
Miss Leeson has an ideal of true love and romance in her mind and in her heart. She clings to
this ideal even when she becomes destitute and is starving. She does not compromise. Miss
Leeson's dream comes true. Her prince rescues her. We shall assume that Dr. Jackson is a
prince who is worth the wait.