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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What is the name of the magazine that Helen Steeply publishes an article in?

2. Who narrates the film called The Tennis and the Feral Prodigy?

3. What is the name of the man who sells urine samples to his classmates at the academy?

4. Up to Chapter 10, what activity has the medical attache been doing?

5. Where does Hal go to secretly smoke marijuana?

Short Essay Questions

1. What kind of relationship did James seem to have with his sons?

2. What events led to Orin's football career?

3. What kind of relationship do Mario and Hal have?

4. Which of the Incandenza brothers is the most stable?

5. What role does Millicent Kent play in Mario's life?

6. What role does Lyle play?

7. What advice do the older tennis students have for the younger students and what purpose does it serve?

8. Why does Ken Erdedy cut all ties with his drug dealers, only to begin smoking again?

9. What kind of life did James Incandenza lead?

10. Who is Don Gately?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What does the title Infinite Jest suggest about the novel? Why do you think Wallace chose this title?

Essay Topic 2

Was James' genius a blessing or a curse?

Essay Topic 3

What purpose do the names of the years serve? Why does Wallace include a list of all the years? Why did he choose to name them instead of number them?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 863 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample