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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Why does Childan most likely have the fresh marigolds and background music playing in his shop?
(a) To confirm his social standing.
(b) To distract from its shabbiness.
(c) To emphasize his cultural preferences.
(d) To create a pleasant atmosphere.

2. Why does Childan send samples of his merchandise to the university?
(a) To establish a new clientèle.
(b) To identify fingerprints on them.
(c) To verify his client's accusations.
(d) To save on shipping fees.

3. What does Frank decide to do as a result of the Oracle's message?
(a) Live life as best he can.
(b) Send a message to Juliana.
(c) Beg to get his job back.
(d) Seek Childan's business advice.

4. What has caused Africa to become a wasteland?
(a) Asian exploitation of resources.
(b) American bombing.
(c) Nazi experimentation on humans.
(d) Italian colonization.

5. As Chapter 6 closes, what does the manila envelope that Frank and McCarthy receive contain?
(a) A manufacturer's contract.
(b) A certified check.
(c) A court order.
(d) A government permit.

Short Answer Questions

1. What is learned about the role of Blacks in the PSA?

2. What is Wyndam-Matson certain of when he hears Calvin's complaint?

3. What does the author use to establish the relationship between Frank and McCarthy, his foreman?

4. What is discovered about his merchandise that causes Childan to lose a major deal?

5. What are the pincos of Sacramento described as being?

Short Essay Questions

1. How is the mystery client that comes to place an expensive order with Childan described? What appears to be his real purpose? Who can you assume this client to be, and why is he doing this?

2. What do we learn about Hawthorne Abendsen, the author of The Grasshopper Lies Heavy? How does Juliana feel about this novel as compared to Joe?

3. Compare the reactions of Childan, Calvin and Wyndam-Matson to the discovery of the fake guns. What point does the author seem to be making about the business world as he sees it?

4. At the close of Chapter 6, we find Frank and McCarthy excited about starting their jewelry business. Despite this, Frank has some real concerns. Why? Are they legitimate?

5. One way an author can develop character is through descriptions of physical appearance and behavior. What descriptions does the author give of Wyndam-Matson? How do these descriptions reflect the way he runs his business in regard to such things as his treatment of employees, production, and such?

6. How do Childan's and Frank's perception of the Germans and the Japanese differ? What motivates these views?

7. What does the reader learn about the fate of the Slavs and Africans? In what way is Dick continuing to keep his "fiction" tied to reality? What comment might he be making about some of the realities of true USA history?

8. While consulting the I Ching, Frank thinks of how "his life was bound up with all other lives and particles in the universe." What does this mean? How might it be applied to Chapter 1 and serve as foreshadowing for the rest of the novel?

9. In Chapter 3, what suggestion is the author making by putting Hitler in a sanitarium and then noting that the present world in this novel is the product of his mind? What similarities are seen in the thoughts of Juliana and Baynes to support this view?

10. In Chapter 5, Tagomi tells Baynes that many books like the I Ching and The Bible are alive. What does he mean by this? How does this appear to be supported in the text up to the close of this chapter ?

(see the answer keys)

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