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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. Approximately how long was Hamper unemployed before being called back to work?
(a) Nine months.
(b) Six months.
(c) A year.
(d) Three months.

2. If a person had to wait in the chairs along the edges of the unemployment office, what did Hamper recommend that he do?
(a) Come back another day.
(b) Cause a scene so he'd be put at the front of the line.
(c) Put a stop on his mail delivery.
(d) Call his wife to say he'd be home the following Tuesday.

3. At the beginning of the Epilogue, what sport was Hamper playing?
(a) Golf.
(b) Miniature golf.
(c) Basketball.
(d) Croquet.

4. How much time passed between Hamper's first breakdown and his second?
(a) Five days.
(b) A week.
(c) Eight hours.
(d) Two days.

5. Why was Moore fired from Mother Jones?
(a) He was in Flint more than in San Francisco.
(b) He brought poor writers into the magazine.
(c) He refused to curb his sharp tongue.
(d) He constantly clashed with the managing editor.

Short Answer Questions

1. Why did Polson, another shop-rat, become angry at Hamper?

2. What was the primary reason that Henry Jackson, the supervisor, hated Dave?

3. While visiting the factory, what did Moore really want to do?

4. What did Hamper do during his vacation?

5. How did Hamper's supervisor feel when he needed to leave work early because of his breakdown?

Short Essay Questions

1. What was one of Hamper's favorite ways to pass time at work? How is this an interesting facet of his character?

2. What difficulty did Hamper run into as he tried to get a visitor's pass for Alex Kotlowitz, the reporter from the Wall Street Journal? How does this difficulty illustrate the vast difference between the factory worker and the corporate man, even within the same company?

3. What conversation did Hamper and his grandfather have during the family reunion? How does this fittingly illustrate the difference in their generations?

4. At the beginning of Chapter 5, how did Hamper portray the employees of the Michigan Employment Security Commission? Is this a fair picture?

5. Why did General Motors become concerned with the quality of their vehicles? Given Hamper's tone while telling this story, what was his response?

6. What did Mike Moore want to do his last night in Flint before he moved to San Francisco? How is this oddly fitting?

7. "It wasn't every afternoon that I received long-distance phone call from folks at the Wall Street Journal. I didn't remember having any friends who worked there and I was certain that I didn't owe these people any money (pg 171). What do these two sentences reveal about Hamper's character?

8. What new vehicle was the factory hired to build? How was this, written in Hamper's account of life, a sign of the times?

9. What kind of supervisor was Gino? How did Hamper respond to his leadership?

10. How did the men on the Rivet Line deal with the supervisor sent in to replace Gino? How was this a sign that they are powerful?

(see the answer keys)

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