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

Short Answer Questions

1. Who agrees to having his fake obituary written?

2. What channel is The Real World shown on?

3. What does Dave say he cannot imagine life without?

4. What kind of flag did a boy have up in his window in Dave's neighborhood?

5. What does Sari write about?

Short Essay Questions

1. What happens when the magazine claims Adam Rich has been murdered?

2. How is Dave's situation changing in Chapter 8?

3. Why are the cast members of the Real World not so welcome at the photo shoot in Chapter 7?

4. Describe Dave's first exposure to hatred.

5. What is the misunderstanding between the Might magazine and Where in the World is Carmen San Diego in Chapter 8?

6. What problems does Toph cause Dave in Chapter 9?

7. What does Dave do for the front cover of the first issue?

8. What happens to Shalini in Chapter 9?

9. Describe the wedding in Chapter 10.

10. What is wrong with Dave at the end of Chapter 8?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Choose two of the following people and outline his/her influence on Dave Eggers' life:

1) Toph

2) His father

3) His mother

4) Beth

Essay Topic 2

Look at the structure of the book.

1) Discuss elements of the narrative structure: exposition, conflict, complication, climax, resolution and conclusion. Do all the elements make for a logical and linear story? How does the story's structure express the book's ideas?

2) Examine the way Eggers uses other people in the story to express his ideas.

Essay Topic 3

Examine the fake obituaries Dave and his fellow editors run in the Might magazine.

1) What comment is the magazine trying to make by running fake obituaries?

2) Why do the fake obituaries backfire so badly?

3) How do the fake obituaries express the book's theme of death and how people react to it?

(see the answer keys)

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