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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. In what way does J.P.'s violent streak first show up?
(a) He starts a fight in a bar.
(b) He throws a lunch pail.
(c) He pushes a customer.
(d) He wrecks his car.

2. What does a kiss from a chimney sweep supposedly bring?
(a) New job.
(b) Bad health.
(c) Good luck.
(d) Marriage.

3. In the story, what is the well a metaphor for?
(a) Alcoholism.
(b) Childhood.
(c) Despair.
(d) Self-hatred.

4. What is the first thing the narrator and J.P. talk about when they meet?
(a) How they got to the facility.
(b) The location of the facility.
(c) The weather.
(d) What they ate for breakfast.

5. What is one thing J.P. worries about when he is in the well?
(a) All of the above.
(b) That he would starve to death.
(c) That something would fall on him.
(d) That it would rain.

Short Answer Questions

1. How long does the proprietor of the facility recommend that patients stay in treatment?

2. What term of endearment does the narrator use for his girlfriend?

3. What does J.P. say he wanted to do when he got out of high school?

4. Which addictions does the rehabilitation center treat?

5. What causes blackouts, according to "the guy who travels"?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Frank Martin's name suggest?

2. Why does J.P. say the proprietor makes him feel like a "bug"?

3. Why does the narrator not tell J.P. that he woke up on New Year's Day wanting a drink?

4. Give an example of a character in the story thinking fatalistically.

5. Give one example of a character in the story being self-deprecating.

6. What is the significance of mentioning the razor nicks on J.P.'s and other residents' faces?

7. Give an example of a character feeling stigmatized.

8. What is the significance of the call the narrator intends to make to his wife at the end of the story?

9. What is the plot of "To Build a Fire," the story the narrator remembers reading?

10. Why don't we learn what the narrator does for a living?

(see the answer keys)

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