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This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What did Bukowski witness at the event that he attended as a young boy?
(a) A parachute jumper landing safely.
(b) A parachute jumper being hit by a plane.
(c) A parachute jumper hitting the ground.
(d) A parachute jumper landing in a tree.

2. In The Big Pot Game, what do the young men have, according to Bukowski?
(a) Misery.
(b) Dissatifactory circumstances.
(c) Everything.
(d) Freedom.

3. What does Bukowski think comic strips have become?
(a) Heightened social commentary.
(b) Subtle.
(c) Raw.
(d) Human.

4. How does Bukowski discover what he does in A Bad Trip?
(a) After a moment's reflection.
(b) On an acid trip.
(c) After months of thinking.
(d) After a conversation.

5. What does Bukowski notice on his hands at the end of The Blanket?
(a) Ink.
(b) Bruises.
(c) Burns.
(d) Blood.

6. In Notes of a Potential Suicide, what does Bukowski fail at?
(a) Picking up girls.
(b) His marriage.
(c) A test.
(d) His speech.

7. What does Bukowski keep betting on in Flower Horse?
(a) Horses who are short of winning.
(b) Horses who are in last place.
(c) Horses who win.
(d) Horses who become injured.

8. How much money does Bukowski win in Flower Horse?
(a) $200.
(b) $250.
(c) $100.
(d) $2,500.

9. What is Bukowski sick with in A Popular Man?
(a) Meningitis.
(b) Flu.
(c) Cancer.
(d) Cold.

10. What is the name of the man's daughter in One for Walter Lowenfels?
(a) Vera.
(b) Tina.
(c) Lala.
(d) Madge.

11. What does Bukowski discuss with his friends in Beer and Poets and Talk?
(a) The nature of politics today.
(b) The nature of relationships today.
(c) The nature of their friendship today.
(d) The nature of literature today.

12. How does Bukowski die in A Popular Man?
(a) Chokes to death.
(b) Fever.
(c) Cancer.
(d) Shoots himself.

13. What do the two young men reply to Bukowski when he asks for a cigarette in The Big Pot Game?
(a) They do not want to give him any.
(b) They will only sell it to him.
(c) They have run out.
(d) They are going to Malibu.

14. What kind of friends does Bukowski have in Beer and Poets and Talk?
(a) Ignorant.
(b) Literary.
(c) Working-class.
(d) Illiterate.

15. Who does Bukowski go out with in Notes of a Potential Suicide?
(a) A Spanish man.
(b) An Englishman.
(c) A German man.
(d) A French man.

Short Answer Questions

1. Where does Bukowski go during the conversation in Beer and Poets and Talk?

2. What does Bukowski's final visitor give him?

3. What is acid's virtue, according to Bukowski?

4. How does the mechanic in A Rain of Women approach Bukowski?

5. What is the name of the woman that Bukowski has relations with in Purple as an Iris?

(see the answer keys)

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