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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. What is a logical inference about who "Hopie" is?

2. When Nan asks for Frank's help renegotiating her divorce settlement, what advice does he give her?

3. What is implied about having offices "near the copying machines" (29)?

4. What is Frank referring to when he asks Brenda what she is going to do with "that beautiful struma" (27)?

5. What is the name of the firm where Frank and Alan begin their legal careers?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is the story that Nan Christie tells Frank about trying to find someone to date and marry?

2. What angers Frank so much at the bar and restaurant called "Jack's'?

3. What do Frank and Alan do two months before their big case is supposed to be tried, and why do people tell them it is a bad idea?

4. What major event happens in Alan's life at Christmastime the year that Frank meets Nan, and how does Alan feel about it?

5. How does Nan react when Frank tells her his theory about the difference between men and women?

6. What is the outcome of Frank and Alan's big case, and how does it impact their careers?

7. On page 29, what does Brenda say about "thin-lipped women," and how does Frank respond?

8. Who is Brenda, and what is Franks' relationship with her in the first section of the text?

9. What is "Hardmann Roe," and what role does it play in shaping Frank's and Alan's careers?

10. What is similar and what is different about Frank's and Alan's fathers?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

In an early discussion of Alan's father's legal career, the narrator notes that “No defendant was too guilty, no case too clear-cut” (25). This leads to public disdain for Alan's father, but shortly afterward the reader sees the man himself in action, defending a black man in front of a bigoted jury. Reread this section of the text and then write an essay that considers how Alan's father functions as a metaphor for Salter himself and for his style of writing without sentimentality of the circumstances surrounding the immoral action of having sex with a minor. Support your assertions with evidence from the text.

Essay Topic 2

In a well-known interview with Edward Hirsch, Salter said, "Pure masculinity...is tedious and inadequate." Write an essay in which you analyze the extent to which "American Express" supports this observation. Use textual evidence to support your claims.

Essay Topic 3

When Alan and Frank exchange a look in the hotel bar in Spoleto after Eda has refused to sleep with Alan, Alan understands Frank's intentions without discussion. "They were like thieves," the narrator comments (45). In what sense are Frank and Alan like thieves? Write an essay that considers not just this scene but the entirety of the story as you make and defend a claim about Frank's and Alan's willingness to "steal" to get what they want. Be sure to support your ideas with evidence from the text.

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