View a FREE sample

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

Short Answer Questions

1. What kind of car did the narrator's family have?

2. What might be a typical soap item disguised as something else in the catalog?

3. According to the narrator, how do Van people drive?

4. What happened to the narrator's middle school diploma?

5. The narrator finds that Van people and Camper people are all ________________.

Short Essay Questions

1. What human foibles does the Johnson Smith catalog prey on and why does the narrator appreciate it?

2. What scenario does the narrator imagine in which archaeologists discover television advertising and what are their perceptions of it?

3. Define a BNA and cite some supporting examples.

4. What are the typical bumper sticker messages found on campers as opposed to the stickers found on vans?

5. Describe how Mr. Leggett managed to drive The Happy Cow out of business.

6. Why does the narrator attribute his academic doom to classroom seating?

7. How does the narrator speculate that the archaeologists might think the commercials are somehow religious media?

8. How does the narrator's experience in the Lincoln Tunnel mirror his demeanor during his school years?

9. With what does the narrator credit the Johnson Smith catalog for being and how will it stand up as an American culture artifact?

10. Describe the narrator's surprise inspiration in Algebra class and how he avoided looking like the failure he was sure he was.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Explain the significance of the book's title, "A FISTFUL OF FIG NEWTONS." Why did Shepherd choose this title? Is there an understood message in the title? Is there another title you can suggest that might be just as appropriate?

Essay Topic 2

Shepherd was masterful at crafting literary descriptions for his readers. Choose a paragraph from the book which you find especially descriptive. How do you think Shepherd was able to craft it the way he did? What is so appealing to you about the passage? Explain.

Essay Topic 3

Discuss Shepherd's writing style. How is he different from other writers of his time? What are some of his characteristic writing techniques? Identify some examples of his classic style in this book.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,152 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample